William Bottomley

ENNICE — William Blan Bottomley, age 68 of 5071 Glade Valley Road, Ennice, NC died Tuesday, September 1, 2015 at his residence. He was born March 25, 1947 in Alleghany County to the late W. Cleve and Annie Ogle Bottomley. In addition to his parents he was also preceded in death by two brothers, L.C. Bottomley and Bill Bottomley; six sisters, Cecil Bottomley, Gladys Bedsaul, Zenna Bedsaul Todd, Lucille Holt, Aberdeen White, Lorraine Boles. He was the patriarch of the county's largest family farming enterprise. He and his son started Bottomley Evergreen Farms in 1990 and it grew into a sprawling operation with fields in northwest North Carolina and southwest Virginia as well as Nevada and Oregon. He was also one of North Carolina's largest producers of pumpkins. In 2013, a Raleigh News and Observer article said the farm shipped 1.2 million pumpkins. He also operated a trucking company and a dairy. However, the operation had made arrangements to leave the dairy business and planned to auction their herd on September 2. He is survived by his wife, Martha Roten Bottomley of the home; four sons, Martin C. Bottomley and fiancé Serrena Caudill of Wilmington; Mitchell Blan Bottomley and wife DeAnna Osborne Bottomley of Ennice, Tracy Bottomley and wife Amy of Ennice, Kelly Floyd Bottomley and wife Renea of Ennice; ten grandchildren, Seth Bottomley, Hunter Bottomley, Jonah Bottomley, Heath Bottomley, Luke Bottomley, Matthew Bottomley, Kellen Bottomley, Connor Bottomley, Abigail Bottomley, Isabella Bottomley; four brothers, Bobby Bottomley and wife JoAnn of Ennice, Ben Bottomley and wife Gail of Sparta, Junior Bottomley and wife Carol of Glade Valley, Dennis Bottomley and wife Sandra of Ennice; two sisters, Cora Sue Brown of N. Wilkesboro, Gencie Finney of Sparta; several nieces and nephews also survive. The family requests the honor of your presence at the funeral service to honor the life of Mr. Bottomley at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 5, 2015 in the chapel of Grandview Memorial Funeral Home with Brother Hugh Miller officiating. Interment will follow at Saddle Mountain Cemetery in Ennice. The family will receive friends starting at 5:00 p.m. Friday evening at the funeral home and other times at the residence. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Alleghany County Education Foundation, Inc., c/o Rita Woodruff, PO Box 33, Sparta, NC 28675 for the Blan Bottomley Agricultural Scholarship Fund. Grandview Memorial Funeral Home is proudly serving the Bottomley family and if you wish, online condolences may be submitted to the family at www.grandviewfuneralhome.com.