Delores Ray "Snooks" Fuzzell

Delores Ray Spivey Fuzzell
May 30, 1932 - June 16, 2025
Momma passed quietly in Fleming Island, Florida, remembering family and friends in her final days. She, as 2 Timothy 4:7 references, ran the race, fought the fight, kept the faith, her formative years deeply rooted in Harnett County, North Carolina, and in remembering loved ones.
Born 3rd of 7 children to Ray Lemon Spivey and Ora Nanny Kelly Spivey on 30 May 1932 in Caswell County. She was preceded in death by her husband of over 70 years, Norman Lee Fuzzell, of Coodys Bluff, Oklahoma, three brothers, Roger Lee Spivey, William F. (Billy) Spivey, and Terry Gray Spivey, and sister, Elizabeth Ann (Lib) Spivey.
Delores was affectionately known as "Snooks" throughout her life by family members, friends and neighbors in her community near Olivia, and at Benhaven High School, where she graduated in 1950. She was a talented basketball player, her scoring key in twice leading her high school team to winning state championships. She averaged 34 points per game in her 4 years of playing basketball at Benhaven High School. In one playoff game in Dunn, NC, Snooks had scored 46 points by the 3rd quarter.
Given her talents, she received an invitational letter to join the Hanes Hosiery Professional Basketball Team in Winston-Salem. In later years Snooks played on the Sanford City League, winning the City League Championship, in which she scored 44 points. Later yet, she joined the Over-65 (years of age) Women's Basketball League in Charlotte, at age 67, so typical in basketball in North Carolina!
Within weeks after graduating high school, Delores went to work in US Civil Service at the Fort Bragg Medical Examination Center, where she met her future husband, Norman, who was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division. Married at Barbecue Presbyterian Church on 17 November 1951, where she was a member, she and Norman traveled to 5 Army installations in the US, and lived in Naples, Italy for 3 years, and 2 years in Izmir, Turkey. She kept home fires burning, caring for her children, while her husband served remote tours in South Korea and South Vietnam. Delores was a sales associate for Burdines Department Store in Greensboro, NC, later re-named Dillard's, for over 10 years, during which time she posed as a runway model for womens fashions.
Delores' greatest pride was in being a fastidious homemaker and in raising her 3 children, Steven, Doug and Kelly. Her baking skills were superb, her layer cakes and cobblers beautiful and tasty. In her early years of marriage, she continued making her clothing, as she had in high school. She had a particular interest in decorating her home in colonial and early American furnishings, and an eye for her own dress and appearance. She faithfully supported her husband's 59 years' service to our Nation, his career in the US Army as an NCO and officer, as well as his second career in the US Civil Service.
She is survived by her two sons, Steven and his wife Shari, Douglas and his wife Judy, a daughter Kelly Ann McFatter, as well as six grandchildren, and eight great grandchildren. Her surviving siblings are Peggy Lou Spivey Thomas, and Rufus Kelly Spivey, along with many loving nephews and nieces. She notably welcomed her brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law with openness and grace into her extended family, as she did all visitors into her home. Delores will be truly missed.
A funeral service will be held Saturday, June 21, 2025 at 11:00 AM at Barbecue Presbyterian Church with Rev. Chance Snell officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends following the services in the church fellowship hall.
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