Velma Bailey Clodfelter

June 30, 1939 - Sept. 6, 2014 Velma was born on June 30, 1939, in Calhoun County, Arkansas. She graduated from Hampton High School at the age of 16 and moved to Washington, D.C. where she worked as a clerk for the FBI for five years. She told her granddaughter, Erika, that her job with the FBI was to read the press releases before they went to type to be sure no American spy names were printed in the newspapers. In 1959, she married the late David Lynn Clodfelter and moved from Washington, D.C. to Ft. Stewart Army Base in Georgia. Upon her husband’s discharge from the army, Velma and her family moved to Troutman where she lived until her passing on September 6, 2014, at the age of 75. Velma enjoyed working in the service industry, first spending several years cooking for and serving the students in the lunchroom of Troutman Middle School. Later she was a waitress at Howard Johnson’s in Statesville before transferring her talents to Julia’s Talley House. She worked for many years as a cashier at Galaxy Foods, moving to Kerr Drugs when the Galaxy closed. She retired in 2013 from Kerr and spent the last year of her life enjoying her free time while visiting friends and relatives whenever the notion suited her. Velma was active in Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Troutman with the women’s circles, contributing to the many items the circles collected each month, hosting her circle, occasionally doing the program for the meeting and taking her favorite fruit and Jell-O dish to serve at funeral dinners. Without fail, her sunflowers graced the altar every August. She loved to garden and often passed along the bounty of the summer vegetables to fellow members of Holy Trinity, the women’s shelter, and Fifth Street Ministries. Velma was a voracious reader. She turned that love of books into service by working with the Friends of the Library to establish the J. Hoyt Hayes Memorial Troutman Library. One of Velma’s favorite times of the year was when the Iredell County Fair came to town. Baking, canning and floral competitions was her forte. She was a fierce competitor and delighted in bringing home numerous ribbons. Just last year she won a First Place ribbon with her canned tomatoes at the North Carolina State Fair. She is survived by three children: Alpha Irene Clodfelter Valines (Frank), Virginia Lynn Clodfelter Galloway (Bill) and Donald Sylvester Clodfelter (Jackie); six grandchildren: Erika Elaine Galloway Martin (Jason), Daniel Eli Galloway, Donald Leland Clodfelter, Ashlye Noelle Valines, Audra Victoria Valines and Adam Corey Clodfelter; and one great-granddaughter, Alyssa Brooke Martin. She is also survived by one sister, Alice Bailey Blann; and three brothers, Thomas Elisha Bailey, William David Bailey and Charles Hughes Bailey. She was preceded in death by three sisters and one brother. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 11, 2014 at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church with the Rev. Dieter W. Punt officiating. The family will receive friends from 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, please make memorial contributions to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, P.O. Box 308, Troutman, NC 28166 or Troutman Friends of the Library, P.O. Box 74, Troutman, NC 28166.