Shirley Lassiter Speight

   Shirley Jane Lassiter Speight, 72, of 501 US Hwy 158 W, Gates, NC, died Thursday, December 12, 2019, in her home.

   Mrs. Speight was born in Bertie County on September 11, 1947, and was the daughter of the late Cleophus “Okey” Lassiter and Irene Hoggard Lassiter Bryant. A graduate of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, she received her Masters of Education from East Carolina University, and retired after teaching for nearly 35 years. A longtime Mathematics teacher at Gates County High School, she had also done contract teaching after retirement, and had taught summer classes at both East Carolina and Chowan Universities. A member of the South Norfolk, VA Moose Lodge, she was an active participant of the Beasley Center Dance Group in Portsmouth, VA, and with her husband was a supporter of the Virginia Country Music Association.

   She is survived by Thomas Harvey Speight, her husband of 55 years; two daughters, Laura Ellen Speight Groh of Ahoskie, and Christine Louise Speight of Myrtle Beach, SC; two sisters, Patricia L. Herrin of Ahoskie and Vivian L. Whitehurst of Suffolk, VA; a brother, Robert L. Lassiter of Ahoskie; five grandchildren, Allison Elaine Groh, Robert Wayne Groh, Jr., Dylan Nathaniel Groh, Corey Theodore Groh, and Austin Thomas Denno.

   Friends may join the family for a time of visitation on Sunday, from 2 to 4 p.m., in Miller Funeral Home, 304 Main Street, Gatesville.

   Funeral services will be held Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. in the chapel of the funeral home, and will be conducted by the Rev. Tom Potter. Burial will follow in the Gatesville Cemetery.

   Online condolences may be made by visiting www.millerfhc.com.