COROLLA - John Wendell Austin, 90, died Thursday, Dec. 24 in Leigh Memorial Hospital.
He was the son of the late William Riley and Louise Peele Austin and the widower of Virginia Tillett Austin.
He was an 89 year resident of Corolla and ran Austin General Store for 55 years. He was a retired postmaster, after serving the position for 35 years.
He was a veteran of WW I; a member of Whale Head Baptist Church, superintendent of the Sunday School for 50 years and a member of the National Assc. of Postmasters.
For the past 2 years Mr. Austin had been a semi-invalid following a fall which left him with a broken hip.
This past July he sustained the second broken hip in a fall at his home in the little village of Corolla, where he had lived since the age of two months.
Mr. Austin was born in Hatteras in July 1891 and came to Corolla as an infant with his parents, Mr. & Mrs. William Raleigh Austin, when his father was transferred to be lighthouse keeper at Corolla.
He grew up in the lighthouse keeper's quarters and spent the remainder of his years in the shadow of the lighthouse, residing in a near white frame house next door to the post office-store, which is a stone's throw from the lighthouse.
In 1924 he became postmaster at Corolla and operated a general store in conjunction with his postmaster duties. In all, he ran the little store for 55 years and retired as postmaster in 1959.
He is survived by two sons: O.W. Austin of Virginia Beach and Norris Austin of Corolla; a sister, Mrs. Gertrude Hayman of Virginia Beach; and 3 grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Dec. 27 in Twiford's Colonial Chapel in Chesapeake, Va. by the Rev. Farrell Walker. Burial was in Austin Cemetery in Kitty Hawk.
The Southern Post
Coinjock, NC
Wednesday, Dec. 30, 1981
He was the son of the late William Riley and Louise Peele Austin and the widower of Virginia Tillett Austin.
He was an 89 year resident of Corolla and ran Austin General Store for 55 years. He was a retired postmaster, after serving the position for 35 years.
He was a veteran of WW I; a member of Whale Head Baptist Church, superintendent of the Sunday School for 50 years and a member of the National Assc. of Postmasters.
For the past 2 years Mr. Austin had been a semi-invalid following a fall which left him with a broken hip.
This past July he sustained the second broken hip in a fall at his home in the little village of Corolla, where he had lived since the age of two months.
Mr. Austin was born in Hatteras in July 1891 and came to Corolla as an infant with his parents, Mr. & Mrs. William Raleigh Austin, when his father was transferred to be lighthouse keeper at Corolla.
He grew up in the lighthouse keeper's quarters and spent the remainder of his years in the shadow of the lighthouse, residing in a near white frame house next door to the post office-store, which is a stone's throw from the lighthouse.
In 1924 he became postmaster at Corolla and operated a general store in conjunction with his postmaster duties. In all, he ran the little store for 55 years and retired as postmaster in 1959.
He is survived by two sons: O.W. Austin of Virginia Beach and Norris Austin of Corolla; a sister, Mrs. Gertrude Hayman of Virginia Beach; and 3 grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Dec. 27 in Twiford's Colonial Chapel in Chesapeake, Va. by the Rev. Farrell Walker. Burial was in Austin Cemetery in Kitty Hawk.
The Southern Post
Coinjock, NC
Wednesday, Dec. 30, 1981
COROLLA - John Wendell Austin, 90, died Thursday, Dec. 24 in Leigh Memorial Hospital.
He was the son of the late William Riley and Louise Peele Austin and the widower of Virginia Tillett Austin.
He was an 89 year resident of Corolla and ran Austin General Store for 55 years. He was a retired postmaster, after serving the position for 35 years.
He was a veteran of WW I; a member of Whale Head Baptist Church, superintendent of the Sunday School for 50 years and a member of the National Assc. of Postmasters.
For the past 2 years Mr. Austin had been a semi-invalid following a fall which left him with a broken hip.
This past July he sustained the second broken hip in a fall at his home in the little village of Corolla, where he had lived since the age of two months.
Mr. Austin was born in Hatteras in July 1891 and came to Corolla as an infant with his parents, Mr. & Mrs. William Raleigh Austin, when his father was transferred to be lighthouse keeper at Corolla.
He grew up in the lighthouse keeper's quarters and spent the remainder of his years in the shadow of the lighthouse, residing in a near white frame house next door to the post office-store, which is a stone's throw from the lighthouse.
In 1924 he became postmaster at Corolla and operated a general store in conjunction with his postmaster duties. In all, he ran the little store for 55 years and retired as postmaster in 1959.
He is survived by two sons: O.W. Austin of Virginia Beach and Norris Austin of Corolla; a sister, Mrs. Gertrude Hayman of Virginia Beach; and 3 grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Dec. 27 in Twiford's Colonial Chapel in Chesapeake, Va. by the Rev. Farrell Walker. Burial was in Austin Cemetery in Kitty Hawk.
The Southern Post
Coinjock, NC
Wednesday, Dec. 30, 1981
He was the son of the late William Riley and Louise Peele Austin and the widower of Virginia Tillett Austin.
He was an 89 year resident of Corolla and ran Austin General Store for 55 years. He was a retired postmaster, after serving the position for 35 years.
He was a veteran of WW I; a member of Whale Head Baptist Church, superintendent of the Sunday School for 50 years and a member of the National Assc. of Postmasters.
For the past 2 years Mr. Austin had been a semi-invalid following a fall which left him with a broken hip.
This past July he sustained the second broken hip in a fall at his home in the little village of Corolla, where he had lived since the age of two months.
Mr. Austin was born in Hatteras in July 1891 and came to Corolla as an infant with his parents, Mr. & Mrs. William Raleigh Austin, when his father was transferred to be lighthouse keeper at Corolla.
He grew up in the lighthouse keeper's quarters and spent the remainder of his years in the shadow of the lighthouse, residing in a near white frame house next door to the post office-store, which is a stone's throw from the lighthouse.
In 1924 he became postmaster at Corolla and operated a general store in conjunction with his postmaster duties. In all, he ran the little store for 55 years and retired as postmaster in 1959.
He is survived by two sons: O.W. Austin of Virginia Beach and Norris Austin of Corolla; a sister, Mrs. Gertrude Hayman of Virginia Beach; and 3 grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Dec. 27 in Twiford's Colonial Chapel in Chesapeake, Va. by the Rev. Farrell Walker. Burial was in Austin Cemetery in Kitty Hawk.
The Southern Post
Coinjock, NC
Wednesday, Dec. 30, 1981
Bio by: Marilyn
Gravesite Details
Buried next to his wife.
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