Rachel Baldwin Talbert

Rachel Martress Baldwin Talbert, 89, died Friday, June 20, 2014, at the John F. Keever, Jr., Solace Center. Mrs. Talbert was born in Troy, NC, and was a daughter of the late Maston and Louise Russell Baldwin, and she was married to Oscar William Talbert, who died in 2002. She was of the Baptist faith and she had worked as a private cook for the William Cecil family. Surviving are two daughters, Brenda Russell of Canton and Sheila Gray Atkins of Troy; a son, Buddy Talbert of Blountville, TN; four grandchildren, Catherine Ferguson, Rebecca Russell, Tammy Atkins and Greg Atkins; two great-grandchildren, Ada Ferguson and Charlie Ferguson; and a sister, Jane Poole of Troy. Funeral services will be at 10:00 a.m. Monday in the chapel of the Western Carolina State Veterans Cemetery, 962 Old US 70 Highway, Black Mountain, NC 28711. The Rev. James Lamb will officiate. Memorials may be made to the John F. Keever Hospice Solace Center, PO Box 25338, Asheville, NC 28813. Groce Funeral Home on Tunnel Road is assisting with the arrangements.