James Edward “Eddie” Sparks, age 81, of Marlinton, passed away Saturday, April 22, 2017, at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown.
Born May 11, 1935, in Orange, Virginia, he was a son of the late John Newton, Sr. and Hattie May Fortune Sparks.
Eddie moved to Elyria, Ohio, in 1965. He married his wife, Jean Carol Long Sparks June 29, 1968. Upon his retirement from Ridge Tool Company in Elyria, Ohio, where he worked for 28 years in the graphic arts department, he and Jean moved back to Marlinton in August 1996.
He had been a member of the Swago United Methodist Church for 21 years. He loved people and animals, especially cats and dogs; old-time Westerns – John Wayne was his favorite – mowing grass and gardening and working in the flower beds with his wife.
Eddie was an avid football fan of the Cleveland Browns and West Virginia Mountaineers; he was also a Cleveland Indians fan. He enjoyed camping at Watoga State Park and Bingo at the Marlinton Senior Center.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by two brothers, John Newton Sparks, Jr., and Samuel Eugene Sparks; a sister, Wynona Lee Rogers; and a nephew, Mark William Rogers.
He is survived by his wife of 48 years and 10 months, Jean Sparks; a sister, Juanita Mae Pritt, of Scottown, Ohio; special cousins, Paul and Diana Sparks, of Marlinton, Martara Hanna, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, and Cathy Noone, of Dundalk, Maryland; nieces, Barbara Sue Reinhold, and husband, David, of Scottown, Ohio, and Tammy Rogers, of Lewisburg; nephews, Michael Rogers, and wife, Cindy, of Buckeye, Robert Pritt, and wife, Cynthia, of Frankford, Donald Pritt, and wife, Cathy, of Petersburg, Joe Pritt, of California, and John Pritt, and wife, Frances, of Hillsboro; and many great and great-great-nieces-and-nephews and friends.
Family will receive friends April 26 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lantz Funeral Home in Buckeye. Funeral service will be held April 27, 11 a.m. at Lantz Funeral Home with Pastor Jeanie Nelson officiating. Interment will be in the Mountain View Cemetery in Marlinton.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to a charity of your choice.
Online condolences may be made at www.Lantzfunearlhome.com
