Ed Alton Whitehurst Sr., 78, passed away on Tuesday, June 14, 2011, after a long battle with emphysema.
The funeral service will be conducted Friday at 11 a.m. in the Wilkerson Funeral Chapel.  Burial will follow in Bethel Cemetery.

Ed was born on April 4, 1933, in Bethel, N.C., to the late Eddie and Alice Cherry Whitehurst. His adult life was spent in the Pactolus community as a farmer and businessman. After farming for many years, he started Whitehurst & Sons Fence Company located in Pactolus and once had offices in Raleigh and Rocky Mount. He recently celebrated the 32nd year of Poorman’s Flea Market and Grill which he began in June 1979. He was an avid tennis player in his early years and later in life enjoyed traveling both domestically and internationally. He was a boater and enjoyed fly fishing and offshore fishing for many years. Ed will be remembered as a loving husband, father, grandfather and friend.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, “Buddy” Whitehurst; a sister, Dorothy Edwards; and two infant brothers.

He is survived by his: wife, Annette James Whitehurst; sons, Ed Whitehurst, Jr. and wife, Wendy, of Aurora, and Judson Whitehurst and wife, Beth, of Greenville; daughters, Susan Crawford and husband, Ronald, of Bethel, and Janene Cherry, of Washington; stepson, Kevin Pilgreen and wife, Farrish, of Bethel; stepdaughter, Karen O’Neal and husband, Scott, of Bethel; brother, Bobby Whitehurst, of Greenville; sisters, Myrtle Holland, of Belvoir, Selma Best, of Morehead, Pat Pierce, of Charlotte, Alma Webb, of Lawrenceville, Ga., and Connie McGrath, of Greenville, 23 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

The family will receive friends Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Wilkerson Funeral Home and other times at his home, 903 Whitehurst Lane, Washington, N.C.

Online condolences at www.wilkersonfuneralhome.com