Henry Bostic

Henry Hawes Bostic, 93, former Mayor Pro Tem of Elizabethtown, NC, died June 13, 2012, at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, NC, surrounded by his family.



A service to celebrate his life will be Saturday, June 16, at 10 a.m. at the Elizabethtown Baptist Church with visitation following immediately. Graveside services will be at noon at the Elizabethtown City Cemetery.



In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his siblings: David Raymond Bostic, Jr., Margaret Bostic, and Alice Bostic Byrum, and by his son Joe Houghtaling Bostic.



He is survived by his sister, Elizabeth Bostic Robbins; his wife of 69 years, Dorothy Rosa Houghtaling Bostic; his son, Henry H. Bostic, Jr., (Ann) of Charlotte; his daughter, Rosemary Blake Bostic Allen (Dave) of Elizabethtown; five grandchildren: Kyle Houghtaling Bostic (Pam) of Elizabethtown, David Brett Bostic (Alexis) of Wilmington, H. Hawes Bostic III (Ambriel) of Brooklyn, NY, C. Davis Allen III, MD, of Asheville, and Julia Blake Allen of Elizabethtown; and five great grandchildren: Jackson Houghtaling Bostic and Easton Halls Bostic of Elizabethtown, Joseph Trask Bostic and Henry Porter Bostic of Wilmington and Haddie Maude Bostic of Brooklyn.



Henry was born September 11, 1918, in Elizabethtown, the son of the late David Raymond and Mary Lou Register Bostic, graduated from Elizabethtown High School in 1938, and served in the U.S. Army from 1944-46, attaining the rank of sergeant in the Military Police.



He met his wife Rosa of Henderson, NC, in Lumberton where she was attending nursing school. They were married on December 6, 1942, in Wilmington. After the war he went into the wholesale grocery business as a partner in Paul H. Sessoms and Co., later BoMar Distributors, retiring after more than 50 years. His company distributed Jack's Cookies and Wise Potato Chips in Southeastern NC.



He was a member of the Elizabethtown Baptist Church, where he was an usher for more than 58 years, served on the Elizabethtown Town Council for 24 years, was a volunteer fireman for 38 years including three as chief, was a former president of the Elizabethtown Chamber of Commerce, and helped organize and lead both the NC Blueberry Festival and the White Lake Water Festival. He was a Mason and Shriner.



The family requests that memorials be made to the Rebuild the Vision Fund at the Elizabethtown Baptist Church or the charity of choice.