Roy Jessup

Roy Malcolm Jessup, owner of Clark-Jessup Hardware Company, Inc., and Roy M. Jessup Realty Company, Inc., died peacefully at home Saturday, June 20, 2009.



Born March 6, 1912, just west of Ellis Creek near Yorick, he was the son of Robert Morehead Jessup and Annie Mae McDuffie Jessup and a loving brother to ten siblings: Nina Grady, Mamie Jessup, Jasper Jessup, R. Henry Jessup, Percy Jessup, Emily Jessup, Norman Jessup, Mary J. Page, Ruby Jessup, and Arnold Jessup, all of whom preceded him in death. He was married for nearly 70 years to the late Grace Smith Jessup, and although they were not blessed with children, he was "Uncle Roy" to his many nieces, nephews, and their families and friends.



He graduated from White Oak Academy in 1930 having learned a lesson from his principal, W.W. Woodhouse, that became Roy's trademark: never forget a person's name. Even in the last of his 97 years, he could recall not just a person's name, but the names and details of their entire family. It is this simple fact that personifies his life.people and the town he lived in were important to him and he never forgot it.



Roy's work ethic was his other defining characteristic. A natural born salesman, Roy began his career at the tender age of 10 selling apples and other merchandise until midnight, which was not an unusual closing time for stores in Elizabethtown on Saturdays in 1922. He held numerous other jobs, from working in tobacco, involvement in the automobile business with C. B. Smith Motor Company, to having what he believed to be the first "fast food" restaurant in Bladen County at White Lake. But it was his employment for 17 years with James H. Clark at Clark's general merchandise business as head of hardware, building supplies, and farm supplies that would lead to Clark-Jessup Hardware, the name most people associate with Roy Jessup.



Roy and a nephew of James Clark, Conrad Clark, purchased the hardware part of the business when James Clark decided to liquidate. Conrad died nine years later and Roy purchased the other half from the Clark family. He and Grace, along with Regina Vaught, continued to operate and improve Clark-Jessup Hardware until their retirement November 15, 1978. Many brides fondly remember the Brides' Registry at Clark-Jessup, one of their many improvements to the business. Having worked all his life, Roy found it impossible to completely retire and started Roy M. Jessup Realty Company, Inc., continuing in this until his death with the help of former Clark-Jessup bookkeeper Marie Davis.



Roy was an integral part of Elizabethtown and Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church. He was a fireman for 59 years, having also served many years as Chief. He was a member and director on the board of the Bank of Elizabethtown and later, Wachovia Bank. He was a member of the Rotary Club of Elizabethtown. He was a charter member of the Elizabethtown-White Lake Chamber of Commerce having received an honorary lifetime membership in 2004. He served on the Elizabethtown Town Board for 12 years in the 1950s and 1960s, proud of his part in supplying town police officers with their first uniforms, obtaining the first town garbage truck, and constructing the town's present sewer treatment plant. He was Elder Emeritus of Elizabethtown Presbyterian and Past Trustee of Wilmington Presbytery.



The family wishes to express their gratitude for the exceptional care given by the personnel of Lower Cape Fear Hospice and the loving devotion of Ms. Louise Shelton.



A private burial will be held earlier in the day Monday, June 22, 2009 followed by visitation from 12:30 to 1:45 pm at the Presbyterian Activities Center Building prior to the service. A celebration of life service will be conducted at Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church at 2:00 pm with Dr. Bill Young officiating.



Memorials may be made to Lower Cape Fear Hospice, 206 Warrior Trail Dr., Whiteville, NC 28472 or Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church, PO Box 576, Elizabethtown, NC 28337.