Vanard James Mendinghall Sr.

Mr. Vanard James Mendinghall, Sr., 83, of 3326 Sutton Drive, Charlotte, died January 25, 2003 at Presbyterian Hospital, Main.
Funeral service is Noon Thursday, January 30, at Berean Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 1801 Double Oaks Rd., Charlotte, with Dr. Gary Ashford officiating. Interment will be in Oaklawn Cemetery. The body will lie in state from 11:00 AM until the time of service.
Vanard was the last child of seven children born to Rosa and Featherstone Mendinghall, the grandson of John and Sally Gore. At an early age, Vanard learned the value of working and trusting in God. His father passed during the great depression. As a result of the untimely death, at the age of 12 he became a responsible young man to help care for the family. As a young teenaged Golden Glove boxing champion, he learned the value of discipline and rigorousness.
God blessed him to meet and marry his life long sweetheart, Mary Hannah Knotts, who preceded him in death after 59 years of marriage. Vanard was a man of honesty and integrity. All who knew him would agree that he was one of the most dependable, reliable and trustworthy of men.
At an early age, he gave his heart and life to God. For years he was a member of the Church of God and Saints of Christ. There he served as Church Treasurer and Sabbath School Superintendent. Through the ministry of Anzie Whitaker, he was introduced to the Third Angels Message and he along with his entire family joined the Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1960.
A working man who believed in a days work for a days pay, for years he sold coal and wood in the winter, watermelons, cantaloupes and snow cones in the summer. Not only did he have his own shoeshine stand, he occasionally sold dreamcicles at the local parades. He was indeed an extraordinary man, an entrepreneur who invested in and managed real estate. He talked frequently about how God gave him the skill as a master craftsman where he worked for 40 years for J. B. Beam Jewelry Co. Concurrently he worked for 40 plus years at the First Union National Bank, a total of 80 plus years never missing a single day, nor did he ever arrive late.
He leaves to cherish timeless memories six devoted children, Greta Rosannah (Don) Lindsay, Pastor Vanard James (Ruth) Mendinghall, Jr., Pastor Ezra Joel (Linda) Mendinghall, Ruth Joyce (James) Lassiter, Miriam Debra (Ray) Johnson, Jeremiah Hunter (Harriett) Mendinghall; 12 grandchildren; 10 great grandchildren; one aunt, Ruth Gillard; two nieces, Rosetta Dickerson and Trina Crockwell; a nephew, Robert Oliphant; one sister-in-law; and a host of other relatives, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
Long & Son Mortuary Service is serving the Mendinghall family.