Eugene Cyril McComas

EUGENE CYRIL McCOMAS, 89 years of age, of Albemarle, N.C., formerly of Hamlin, W.Va., passed away Saturday, November 30, 2013 at W. G. Bill Hefner VA Medical Center in Salisbury. Eugene was born June 30, 1924 in West Virginia to the late Lonnie Leslie McComas and the late Leona Elkins McComas.

He is survived by his son, Charles McComas of Albemarle; brother, Norman McComas of Hamlin, W.Va.; sisters, Lorraine Petrie of Fayetteville, Ga.; Anna Gay McGhee of Ravenswood, W.Va.; Lois Elkins of Hamlin, W.Va. and Barbara Lamade of Montoursville, Pa.; two step grandchildren; and his former wife, Mae McComas of Hamlin, W.Va. Mr. McComas was retired from Union Carbide Corporation Institute Plant.

A veteran of WWII, he started as a welder in the Norfolk naval yard before joining the US Navy. He was a naval armed guard on liberty ships in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. He was recalled to active duty during the Korean conflict serving on a destroyer assigned to the Mediterranean fleet. A 32nd Degree Mason and a member of the Scottish Rite, he continued to serve his community as a founding member and long time chief of the Hamlin Volunteer Fire Department and as a town councilman in Hamlin for numerous years.

The family will receive friends at Handley Funeral Home, Hamlin, W.Va., on Friday, December 6, 2013, from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. The funeral service will be on Saturday, December 7, 2013, at Handley Funeral Home at 11 a.m. Burial will follow at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Hamlin, W.Va.