Mary Elinor Covington Mrs. Sorrels

WADESBORO - Mrs. Mary Elinor Covington Sorrels, 80, died Thursday, September 6, 2012 at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. Services will be 11:00AM Saturday, September 15, 2012 by the graveside in Eastview Cemetery with Dr. Robert Hunter officiating. The family will greet friends following the service. Mary Elinor was born December 29, 1931 in Anson County, NC a daughter of the late Thomas Jefferson Covington, Jr. and the late Irene King Covington Horton. She was a graduate of Wadesboro High School and attended West Hampton College, now The University of Richmond, VA and attended Greensboro College, now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She graduated from Pan America Business College in Richmond, VA. She worked for a number of years for Thad A. Eure, North Carolina Secretary of State in Raleigh and it was while working there she met her husband, William Pickens Sorrels, a student at North Carolina State University. Following their marriage, she worked with the North Carolina Department of Prisons, in management of prison farms. She and Bill in later years moved to Palm Beach, FL and there they were blessed with their children and she enjoyed being a full-time mother. Following Bill's retirement they returned to Wadesboro to care for her mother. An avid bridge player, she enjoyed her games with local bridge clubs in Wadesboro. Mary Elinor was a faithful member of First Baptist Church, Wadesboro since her childhood. In recent years, realizing the importance of the youth ministry in the church, she and her husband created a trust within the First Baptist Church Foundation for North Carolina mission projects for the youth department at the church. Surviving are her husband of 56 years, William Pickens Sorrels, Sr. of the home; her son and daughter-in-law, William P. Sorrels, Jr. and Lisa Roberts Sorrels of Goldsboro; her daughter and son-in-law, Lynn Sorrels Kelly and Barry Raymond Kelly of Weddington; her grandchildren, Will and Matt Sorrels and Connor and Emma Kelly; and her brother and sister-in-law, T. Jeff Covington, III and Jane Covington of Asheville. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her sister, Barbara Covington O'Flaherty. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church Foundation, North Carolina Youth Mission Projects, P.O. Box 423, Wadesboro, NC 28170. The arrangements are in care of Leavitt Funeral Home. Online condolences may be made at www.leavittfuneralhomewadesboro.com