Thomasine Harkins

Canton - Thomasine (aka “Tommie”), the last child born to the late G. C. Paxton and Annie Jones Paxton of Canton, passed away peacefully at Givens Estates Health Center on the morning of June 1.  She was 92 and had lived independently at home until the last 2 months.

She graduated from Canton High School in 1948 and Pfeiffer Junior College in 1950.  She married William Ray (Bill) Harkins in 1951 and sorely missed him after he passed in 2012.  Her children are forever grateful for the vigilant home care she provided for him during his battle with Alzheimer’s. She was devastated by the loss of her identical twin sister, Jody Green, who passed away March 2021, and never recovered from losing her life-long companion.

As the baby of the Paxton family, she received special treatment from her older siblings, all now deceased:  William, Wallace, Roy (Dude), Joseph (Buzz), Bonnie, Annie Dee Pace, and Winnie Yeaman.

She took great pride in her home, keeping everything neat and decorated for the seasons.  She was an excellent cook.  To date, her children have not been able to duplicate her delicious meatloaf and roast beef with gravy.  There were many “meatloaf contests.”

She was proud of her time with the Hospital Auxiliary at Haywood Regional Medical Center, her Cub Scout Troop, and her decades of membership at West Canton Baptist Church.

She is survived by her children: Lynn Hollifield (Leonard) of Asheville, and Beth Ingersoll (Jeff) of Palm Coast, FL; Roger Harkins (Pam Ferguson) of Canton and Gary Harkins (Elizabeth O’Shea) of Asheville; her four grandsons, Cody Harkins of Canton, Michael Slaughter (Victoria) of Kent, OH, Aaron and Eli Ingersoll of Palm Coast, one great-granddaughter, Willow Harkins; two sisters-in-law, Jeannie Paxton of Austin, Texas and Margaret Burrus of Canton.

A funeral service will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 6, 2021, in the Canton Chapel of Wells Funeral Home with the Reverend Jeff Holder officiating. Interment will follow at Bon-A-Venture Cemetery on the Old Clyde Road next to her husband and premature baby daughter, Patricia Gail.  The family will receive friends from 2:00 until 3:00 p.m. prior to the service at the funeral home.

Memorials may be made to West Canton Baptist Church, 75 Lowe Street, Canton, NC  28716.

The care of Mrs. Harkins has been entrusted to Wells Funeral Homes of Canton and an online memorial register is available at “Obituaries” at www.wellsfuneralhome.com