Jimmie Thomas Garver

NEW BERN | Jimmie Thomas Garver was born on May 24, 1934, in Lena, Mississippi, to James Murry and Velma Sessums Thomas. She died on Wednesday, March 23, 2016 at her home in New Bern, NC, surrounded by loved ones.
A service of worship and celebration, officiated by Dr. Richard Seagle and Dr. Sharon Bender, will take place in the Sanctuary of First Baptist Church, New Bern, NC, at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 26, 2016. The family will receive friends in the Family Life Center following the service.
For more than fifty years she was an integral part of the life of First Baptist Church, New Bern. Over the years she served as a Sunday School Teacher, WMU Director and Sanctuary Choir Member. She co-chaired the Steering Committee for the Challenge to Build Campaign, which secured the financing for the construction of the Family Life Center. She chaired the Garden Study Committee, which under her leadership successfully planned for, and oversaw the construction of, The Memorial Garden at the corner of Middle and Pollock Streets. After the garden was built, she was its chief caretaker as long as her health permitted. She served as chairman of the Flower Committee for many years, devoting many hours to making the sanctuary and grounds beautiful, especially for Christmas and Easter. She originated The Sunshine Luncheon, which has been held on the first Friday in December for more than forty years, providing senior adults and nursing home residents with a lavish home-cooked Christmas feast.
In the 1980's she became the first coordinator of volunteers for the Department of Social Services in Craven County. The position she created while a volunteer herself was later to become a paid position, modeled on the work she had done.
She was active in The New Bern Garden Club for many years, serving in many capacities, including president. She served as President of The Garden Club of North Carolina, 1994-1996.
Her parents, her sister, Dorothy Helen Thomas Gunn, her brother, Murry Howell Thomas, and her beloved husband, James R. "Bud" Garver, with whom she shared 53 happy years of marriage, preceded her in death.
She is survived by her daughter, Debbie Garver Kaylor, and her husband, Phil; her son, Bob Garver, and his wife Jan; her grandchildren, Matt Kaylor, Mary Thomas Kaylor, Maxine Poole, and Campbell Garver. We were blessed with a wonderful mother and grandmother, and each of us is eternally grateful for all that she did for us and meant to us. She is also survived by her sister, Vivian Thomas Moss, her sister Kathryn Thomas Pace and her husband George, and numerous nieces and nephews and their families, all of whom she loved as her other children and all of whom loved her as a second mother.
She was the glue that held us all together. She was the hub of the family wheel. She was the embodiment of service to "the least of these." She was the finest example of courage and tenacity in adversity. She was our greatest cheerleader and most realistic critic. We will hold her in our hearts until that day of great reunion.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Garden Maintenance Fund, c/o First Baptist Church, PO Box 1463, New Bern, NC 28563; The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, www2.org/goto/jimmieg, or Craven County Hospice, Craven County Health Department Foundation, PO Drawer 12610, New Bern, NC 28561.
Online condolences may be directed to www.pollockbest.com