Courtesy Stancil Family Reunion Archive
Rose Annie Stancil, the sixth child of Samuel and Missouri Howell Stancil, was born on August 4, 1902, in North Carolina.
On October 23, 1926, Rose Annie married James Hillard Boykin at the home of the Rev. D.H. Dulin in Cross Roads Township in Johnston County.
Hillard, son of Adam Wesley Boykin and Polly Ann Bissette Boykin, was born on August 14, 1902.
Rose Annie and Hillard lived at Route 2 in Clayton, North Carolina.
Their life together demonstrated a deep sense of family responsibility and care. When Rose Annie's mother, Missouri, passed away, her father, Samuel Stancil, who was only 67 at the time, moved in with Rose Annie and Hillard. Later, when Erma died, Rose Annie and Hillard moved in with Bennett to help look after Irene and Ethel, who were then just 5 and 3 years old.
Rose Annie and Hillard had four children. Their firstborn son, James Ray, was born on October 27, 1935. Tragically, Dr. Ralph Fike of Wilson determined that James Ray was born with Tetanus, which he contracted from his mother. James Ray lived for only 12 hours and 30 minutes, passing away on October 28, 1935. The undertaker, Ferguson-Boswell Company of Wilson, handled the arrangements, and he was buried in the Family Cemetery on October 28.
Their other children were James Carl, born September 3, 1936; Annie Mae, born September 5, 1937; and Pearlie "Faye" Marie, born August 20, 1939.
Rose Annie suffered from Arteriosclerosis Cardiovascular Disease for between five and 10 years. On August 13, 1962, at 9:50 p.m., Hillard took her to Johnston Memorial Hospital in Smithfield, North Carolina, where she experienced a myocardial infarction (heart attack) and died 15 minutes later.
Rose Annie Stancil Boykin passed away at the age of 60. Hunt Funeral Home in Wilson took care of the burial, which was held on August 15, 1962, at Marsh Swamp Cemetery in Wilson County.
James Hillard Boykin continued his life as a widower for nearly 30 years.
James passed away from sepsis on December 6, 1991, at the age of 89, at Avante of Wilson in Wilson, North Carolina.
