Obituary for Lula Rebecca Alexander Kloss
Lula Rebecca Alexander Kloss, a longstanding and beloved figure in the Hickory Knoll community in Macon County, North Carolina passed away on April 27, 2021. She was 101.
Lula was born in Jackson County, NC on July 31, 1919. She was the oldest of nine children to Thomas Luther Buchanan and Carrie Sutton Buchanan. In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her first husband and father of her four children, Cecil Delonius Alexander, who died in 1981; her second husband, Paul J. Kloss, who died in 1988; her son, William Carl Alexander and son-in-law, Dr. John Hume Killian; and her siblings Don Henry, Robert Dan, Carl Jackson, Joe Mack and Nancy Carolyn Buchanan.
She is survived by her children, Robert James Alexander (Joyce) of Greensboro, GA; Frances Alexander Killian of Asheville, NC and Richard Cecil Alexander (Janfra) of Lawrenceville, GA; her sister Helen Buchanan Morgan of Clemmons, NC; her brothers, Billy Ray Buchanan (Evelyn) of Sylva, NC and Tommy Marion Buchanan (Gail) of Brevard, NC; sisters-in-law, Victoria Buchanan and Cereeta Buchanan; as well as seven grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.
Lula worked for many years providing for her family at the Clairborne Manufacturing Company in Clayton, GA and at the Beldon Electric Company in Franklin, NC. She was a prolific quilter and contributing artisan to the Macon Crafts cooperative through the 1980’s. She was a devoted and engaged member of the Hickory Knoll United Methodist Church for over sixty-five years.
Lula was an extraordinary woman and the quintessential, mountain matriarch of a Scotch-Irish family in the Southern Appalachians. She nurtured and carried her family gracefully through the 20th century. Like many of her generation, she was raised in rural poverty and faced the duty and responsibility of maintaining the home and caring for her siblings at an early age. This experience instilled in her a quiet strength, work ethic and resolve that would serve her well the rest of her life.
Lula was timeless. She was well-respected for her Appalachian traditions and heritage skills. She made her own lye soap, canned rigorously, ate her own garden vegetables, and cooked from scratch. She always had a hot meal ready for a guest and a well-tended fire. Lula also loved sharing her sewing and quilting gifts with the community. However, her greatest passion was watching things grow. She particularly loved her tomato plants and perennial flowers.
Lula embodied many of the great virtues of her regional culture such as self-reliance, resourcefulness and resilience and we are grateful for it. But her greatest strength was her faith in God and the love for family, friends and community which stemmed from it. The family appreciates all the wonderful care she received at the Franklin House and Macon Valley Nursing Home.
She will be buried in the Shepherd Cemetery in Macon County and a memorial service to celebrate her life will be held Saturday May 8th, 2021 at 2 pm at Macon Funeral Home Chapel. Visitation will be held at 1 pm prior to the service at 2 pm. Rev. Don Moffitt will officiate, and Frank Killian, Mark Alexander, and Jeff Musser will speak.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Hickory Knoll United Methodist Church. 86 East Hickory Knoll Rd, Franklin, NC 28734.
Online condolences can be made at www.maconfuneralhome.com.
Macon Funeral Home will be handling the arrangements.
Lula was born in Jackson County, NC on July 31, 1919. She was the oldest of nine children to Thomas Luther Buchanan and Carrie Sutton Buchanan. In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her first husband and father of her four children, Cecil Delonius Alexander, who died in 1981; her second husband, Paul J. Kloss, who died in 1988; her son, William Carl Alexander and son-in-law, Dr. John Hume Killian; and her siblings Don Henry, Robert Dan, Carl Jackson, Joe Mack and Nancy Carolyn Buchanan.
She is survived by her children, Robert James Alexander (Joyce) of Greensboro, GA; Frances Alexander Killian of Asheville, NC and Richard Cecil Alexander (Janfra) of Lawrenceville, GA; her sister Helen Buchanan Morgan of Clemmons, NC; her brothers, Billy Ray Buchanan (Evelyn) of Sylva, NC and Tommy Marion Buchanan (Gail) of Brevard, NC; sisters-in-law, Victoria Buchanan and Cereeta Buchanan; as well as seven grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.
Lula worked for many years providing for her family at the Clairborne Manufacturing Company in Clayton, GA and at the Beldon Electric Company in Franklin, NC. She was a prolific quilter and contributing artisan to the Macon Crafts cooperative through the 1980’s. She was a devoted and engaged member of the Hickory Knoll United Methodist Church for over sixty-five years.
Lula was an extraordinary woman and the quintessential, mountain matriarch of a Scotch-Irish family in the Southern Appalachians. She nurtured and carried her family gracefully through the 20th century. Like many of her generation, she was raised in rural poverty and faced the duty and responsibility of maintaining the home and caring for her siblings at an early age. This experience instilled in her a quiet strength, work ethic and resolve that would serve her well the rest of her life.
Lula was timeless. She was well-respected for her Appalachian traditions and heritage skills. She made her own lye soap, canned rigorously, ate her own garden vegetables, and cooked from scratch. She always had a hot meal ready for a guest and a well-tended fire. Lula also loved sharing her sewing and quilting gifts with the community. However, her greatest passion was watching things grow. She particularly loved her tomato plants and perennial flowers.
Lula embodied many of the great virtues of her regional culture such as self-reliance, resourcefulness and resilience and we are grateful for it. But her greatest strength was her faith in God and the love for family, friends and community which stemmed from it. The family appreciates all the wonderful care she received at the Franklin House and Macon Valley Nursing Home.
She will be buried in the Shepherd Cemetery in Macon County and a memorial service to celebrate her life will be held Saturday May 8th, 2021 at 2 pm at Macon Funeral Home Chapel. Visitation will be held at 1 pm prior to the service at 2 pm. Rev. Don Moffitt will officiate, and Frank Killian, Mark Alexander, and Jeff Musser will speak.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Hickory Knoll United Methodist Church. 86 East Hickory Knoll Rd, Franklin, NC 28734.
Online condolences can be made at www.maconfuneralhome.com.
Macon Funeral Home will be handling the arrangements.