Obituary of Harry Fruit

FRUIT KITTY HAWK, NC HARRY A. FRUIT, JR, 93, of Kitty Hawk, died in Nags Head, NC on Saturday, October 11, 2003. Previously a resident of Norfolk and the Kempsville Borough of Virginia Beach, Mr. Fruit was a retired Senior Vice-President of Sovran Bank (now Bank of America). Mr. Fruit was the son of the late Harry A. and Nellie Webster Graves Fruit. His wife, Frances Holladay Fruit, predeceased him in 1976. He led a full life, much of it devoted to public service. Mr. Fruit was a Boy Scout leader, and very active in the Methodist Church, being a founding member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Chesapeake and serving as Lay Leader and Speaker for many years. He was a member of Doric Lodge # 44 for over 50 years. Mr. Fruit was a charter member and officer of the Southside Lions Club and later served as President of the Kempsville Lions Club, completing a term as Deputy District Governor in 1968-69. He was the recipient of the Kempsville Club’s ‘Lion of the Year’ Award in 1976-77. After his retirement from banking he was appointed by Virginia Beach City Council to serve as a Commissioner for Mosquito Control, a volunteer position he held over 6 years. Since moving to Kitty Hawk, he had been a member of the Kitty Hawk United Methodist Church. He enjoyed visiting with friends and neighbors and occasionally carving a duck from a piece of tupelo wood. He will be missed by his children and grandchildren. Mr. Fruit is survived by his son, Bill Fruit, with whom he lived, and his wife, Gee, and their three children, Jean Fruit Moyer, Grace Eliabeth Fruit and William Shepherd Fruit, Jr; son John Curtis Fruit, of Virginia Beach, and his wife, Sandra and their son, John Curtis Fruit, Jr and daughter Anne Durham; daughter Nell Fruit Malat, of Nags Head, and her husband Joseph, and their children Asheley Moore Emmett and Andrew Moore. He is also survived by great-grandsons, William Smith and Benjamin Durham, and great-granddaughters, Jessica Durham and Blaize Moore. There will be a brief graveside service at Old St. Luke’s Cemetery in Smithfield, Va, on Monday, October 13, at 11:00 a.m. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Twiford Funeral Home, Manteo, NC.