Walter Milton Pegram, Jr.

LILESVILLE - On Saturday, November 20, 2021, Mr. Walter Milton Pegram, Jr., 72, passed away peacefully at his home with his loving and devoted family at his bedside.

A service to celebrate Milton's life will be at 3:00 pm Tuesday, November 23, 2021, in the Chapel of Leavitt Funeral Home.

The family will greet friends from 5:00 pm until 8:00 pm Monday, November 22, 2021, at their home.

Milton was born May 24, 1949, in Guilford County, NC, and was a son of the late Vera Maness Burris and the late Walter Milton “Tot” Pegram. He was a 1967 graduate of Anson High School. Upon graduation, Milton served in the United States Air Force having tours of duty in Turkey and North Dakota.

He retired after serving for 30 years with the North Carolina Forestry Service as County Ranger in Anson County. Afterward, he served with the Anson County Sheriff’s Office serving as Chief Deputy for Sheriff Tommy Allen. He retired from the department with the rank of Major.

He was active in his community, having coached baseball for Lilesville Little League teams the Lilesville Reds and Sheppard Wood Products. He served with the Lilesville Fire Department for many years in continuation of his lifelong calling of “service to others”
In 1998, Milton served as Incident Commander during the fires in Dayton Beach and Ormond Beach Florida.

Those left to cherish his memory are his wife of 53 years, Brenda Usrey Pegram; his children, Todd Pegram of Lilesville and Michelle Dennis (Matt) of Norwood; his granddaughters, Ashley Steagall (Wes) of Polkton and Natalie Davis and Lee Ann Dennis both of Norwood; his great-grandchildren, Summer Davis of Norwood and Weston Steagall and Catie Steagall both of Polkton. He is also survived by his brother and sister, Jeff Pegram (Joanna) of Lake Wylie and Jeanne Zentmeyer (Larry) of Kannapolis; his brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Ron Usrey of Garden City, SC, Tom Usrey of Myrtle Beach, SC, Patty “Kitty” Montgomery (Eddie) of Kansas City, MO and Mary Lynn Usrey of Wadesboro and his nieces and nephews and their families.

Milton loved being with family and friends; he never met a stranger. He was at his happiest when socializing surrounded by those he loved and entertaining them while sharing his passion for meal preparation. Among his favorite past times was hosting others and enjoying his home at Holden Beach and fishing the waters off Shallotte Inlet.

For 26 years, he was known as the “Christmas Tree Man”. He and Brenda owned and operated Milton and Brenda’s Christmas Trees at their home. Many people traveled many miles to Lilesville for a Christmas tree or wreath from their lot for generations.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Forestville UMC Cemetery Fund c/o Joanne Clark, 1781 Clark Mountain Rd., Lilesville, NC 28091 or to American Cancer Society 1901 Brunswick Ave #100, Charlotte, NC 28207 for ongoing research.

The arrangements are in care of Leavitt Funeral Home and online condolences may be made at www.leavittfh.com