Rex Burton, 84, of Danville, passed away at home on Monday, March 28, 2016 after a long battle with Alzheimer's.

He was a retired CSX locomotive engineer with 47 years of service. He was a member and elder of Danville Church of Christ. He was a member of the Danville Town Council and former mayor, having served 41 years. He enjoyed being an amateur ham radio operator for many years.

He was preceded in death by his son, Dwaine Burton, and his parents, Walter and Dena Burton.

He is survived by his loving wife of 64 years, Gloria Jean; his daughters, Kathy Dolin and Sandy (Ronald) Nelson; and one granddaughter, Kellie Nelson, all of Danville.

Funeral service will be noon Thursday, March 31, at Danville Church of Christ with Kenneth Mitchell and Richard Runyan officiating. He will be laid to rest at Boone Memorial Park, Madison.

Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church.

Handley Funeral Home, Danville, is in charge of arrangements.

You may express your condolences to the family at www.handleyfh.com.

Jerry Black, 59, of Point Pleasant, died March 25, 2016. Service will be 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 30, at Deal Funeral Home, Point Pleasant, with visitation two hours prior.

Beckner, Virginia M. — Noon, Long & Fisher Funeral Home, Sissonville.

Black, Jerry — 1 p.m., Deal Funeral Home, Point Pleasant.

Coon, Bobbie L. — 2 p.m., Family Gardens, Madison.

Dotson, Charles — 1 p.m., Football Field of West Virginia Tech, Montgomery.

Dunlap, Reba — 2 p.m., Harding Funerals and Cremations, Kanawha City.

Johnson, Harold W. — 1 p.m., Tyler Mountain Funeral Home Chapel, Cross Lanes.

Lyons, Roy J. — 7 p.m., Matics Funeral Home, Clendenin.

Moore, Barbara — Noon, Curry Funeral Home Chapel, Alum Creek.

Reebel, William Jr. — 1 p.m., Christ Episcopal Church, Point Pleasant.

Sayre, Verjean — 1 p.m., Raynes Funeral Home Chapel, Eleanor.

Stanley, Richard D. — 11 a.m., Allen Funeral Home, Hurricane.

Tolley, Ruby A. — 1 p.m., Casto Funeral Home Chapel, Evans.

Vaughn, Lonnie — 4 p.m., Gospel Light House Church, Sundial.

Much has been said and written during the Legislature's consideration of House Bill 4739 and Senate Bill 599, regarding unclaimed life insurance policy benefits. It is important for people to know the facts.

Life insurers honor their commitments and pay benefits that are due, as they have for generations. Nearly 100 percent of claims received are paid, most within 30 days. The small number that aren't paid typically involve questions of fraud.

In 2014 alone, life insurers paid on 99.8 percent of the claims they received in West Virginia, which amounted to $530 million paid to beneficiaries. This money helped families stay in their homes, go to college and maintain their quality of life after the death of a loved one.

Life insurers also contribute significantly to the West Virginia economy by investing approximately $23 billion in West Virginia's economy, most of it in stocks and bonds that help finance business development, job creation and services in the state. Life insurers also provide $339 million in mortgage loans on farm, residential and commercial properties in West Virginia.

This raises the question: why the concern over the bills passed by the Legislature?

In every type of insurance, an insurer's obligation to pay benefits begins when it receives a claim from the insured or, in the case of life insurance, from the insured's beneficiary. The insurer has no obligation under existing law to search for the beneficiaries.

But what are insurers' obligations when beneficiaries don't submit claims because they didn't know the policy existed, or they didn't know they were named as beneficiaries?

Under laws on the books in West Virginia for decades, if an insured dies and the insurer is unaware of the death because a claim has not been submitted, the insurer must report the policy benefits to the state as unclaimed property.

West Virginia law requires unclaimed life insurance benefits to be turned over to the state once the insured would have reached a certain age (usually age 100), based on the insurer's records.

During this year's session, legislators from both parties voted nearly unanimously in favor of HB 4739, which is based on model legislation enacted in 19 states and created by a standard-setting organization comprised of state legislators with insurance expertise, including members of the West Virginia Legislature.

It requires life insurers to periodically compare their files with the Social Security Administration's Death Master File, identify policyholders who may have died and whose beneficiaries haven't filed a claim, attempt to locate those beneficiaries and assist them with the claims process.

The industry supports this bill.

Senate Bill 599 is companion legislation which complements HB 4739. This bill, also with bipartisan support, amends the state's unclaimed property act to clarify that life insurers' responsibilities in the claims paying process are guided by the policies, requirements and interpretations of the state's insurance commissioner.

State insurance commissioners have effectively regulated the insurance claims process for nearly 150 years. Senate Bill 599 supports the vital role the insurance commissioner plays by providing life insurers with regulatory clarity.

For these reasons, we urge Gov. Tomblin to sign both bills.

Jane Cline was West Virginia Insurance Commissioner from 2001 until 2011.

When we think about our region's economic development, we think about oil and gas, innovation and petrochemical manufacturing as the cornerstones of this region's economic future.

But maybe we should be thinking about something a little bit more personal. And that's our own resilience.

The shale gas revolution has a tremendous opportunity, but one that some believe has begun to stagnate. Many citizens have begun to tire from the consistent drumbeat of this topic. But is it so stale? Is that drumbeat, and this article, simply rhetoric? I believe it's not.

I firmly believe we are on the cutting edge of this opportunity. But we must act now. Because it's not just about us, it's about our entire nation's economy and security. It is about our strategic future, not just about today.

For years, it seems we've focused so hard on ethane crackers. And we've yet to see this opportunity become a reality. This delay is part of our new reality, now part of our history. But we absolutely must show resilience, and we need to continue to push and fight for this shale opportunity.

We need to revisit the entirety of the value chain. Let's engage the oil and gas production community - the midstream.

We must not lose sight of the opportunity for value-creating manufacturing based within the region on these efforts upstream. Because maybe part of what we've been missing is that we still have not created the linkage across the entirety of the value chain.

The raw materials available to us in the Marcellus Shale alone have a reported estimated value in excess of $2 trillion, of which some experts report 15 percent is estimated to be natural gas liquids that are extensively used in the petrochemical industry.

The job creation potential is tremendous, and in the petrochemical industry, according to the American Chemistry Council, an additional five jobs are created in surrounding communities for each of its own manufacturing jobs. We may well be talking about adding value to a base of about $300 billion in raw materials.

Further, the geographic location of the regional shales position this opportunity for economic growth, prosperity and security away from the threat of major natural disasters.

Hurricanes threaten the Gulf Coast with regularity, interrupting productivity of the major extraction and important manufacturing hubs there, causing lasting damage to the economy. These manufacturing hubs are of vital importance to our nation and must be protected insomuch as we are able to do so.

We can offer a level of protection to our economy by creating geographic diversification of the industry. The petrochemical industry follows the raw material; it is old wisdom. And we know there is significant availability of raw materials in more than one location in the U.S. due to the shale gas revolution and the natural gas liquid deposits that are so very critical to the industry's success.

However, we cannot transform these raw materials through manufacturing without infrastructure to support the demands and needs of the associated industries.

Infrastructure requirements associated with new build-outs must be delivered by multiple parties. It won't be easy or cheap. We'll need cooperation and support from the private sector, the federal and state governments, private equity and more.

And while this infrastructure is relatively straightforward in premise, it is amazingly complex in execution.

Specifically, the corridors naturally created by the Ohio and Kanawha rivers should be used as a platform for a substantial pipe system that will support the distribution of key raw material and intermediate constituents, including but not limited to methane, ethane, ethylene, propane, propylene and chlorine.

We must have substantial underground storage of ethane and create an Appalachian Storage Hub. This can be safely and efficiently done in naturally occurring underground caverns, in depleted natural gas extraction points or even in depleted salt domes. The brightest minds in geology are pursuing this today.

We cannot give up on this opportunity. It's not in our nature, as people who are born in this region are resilient.

We should all do our part to make this happen, and you can count on me and on MATRIC to help lead the way.

Steve Hedrick is president & CEO of MATRIC, the Mid-Atlantic Technology, Research & Innovation Center, headquartered in the W.Va. Regional Technology Park in So. Charleston.

A U.S. Supreme Court vote Tuesday reveals two important truths - that the nation is missing conservative Justice Antonin Scalia already, and the hypocrisy of the Left knows no bounds.

Justice Scalia, a vehement defender of the First Amendment right of free speech, died in February, leaving a crucial vacancy on the nine-member court.

Without Scalia's wisdom to turn the tide toward individual rights, the court split 4-4 on whether to hear an appeal of a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling.

The deadlocked vote came in a case that considered whether unions representing government employees can collect fees from workers who choose not to join. Some California teachers said being forced to pay union fees violated the free-speech rights of nonmembers who disagree with the union's policy positions.

The split vote leaves in place the ability of labor unions to require employees in some collective bargaining agreements to pay "agency fees" to the union, regardless of whether that employee elects to be a member.

Following that line of reasoning, why stop at labor unions forcing people to give up their money to something they choose not to belong to? Why not make every homeowner in the vicinity of a community church donate to the church?

"But not all neighbors choose to belong to the church," one might argue.

True, but the entire neighborhood benefits from the nearby well-kept church. It's presence boosts property values, encourages the municipality to take better care of the streets around it and brings people from throughout the region to that small corner of the city.

To be fair to those who don't want to belong but are still obligated to pay their "fair share," they won't have to tithe the traditional 10 percent - they need only contribute 8 percent of their income.

Sounds absurd, right? Yet the Left is happy to require workers to pay union dues whether they wish to or not, particularly when Big Labor bankrolls campaigns of Democrats who in turn support Big Labor.

The hypocrisy is revealed in that many on the Left are fighting the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, which allows people to freely spend their money as they wish in support or opposition to candidates.

Get it? In the Left's view, it's OK to require people to spend their money to support Big Labor and their friends in government, but it is not OK for others to spend their own money freely.

We really miss Justice Scalia.

When Jessie Grubb went in for surgery to repair a running injury, her parents made sure to tell her doctors and nurses not to prescribe opioid painkillers.

Grubb was a recovering heroin addict, and her family feared painkillers - which have an almost identical molecular makeup to heroin - would cause their daughter to relapse. If opioids are necessary, they cautioned, they should be administered only under the strictest supervision.

But no one made Grubb's discharging doctor aware of her addiction. He prescribed 50 oxycontin painkillers, and Grubb filled that prescription at the hospital pharmacy, the Gazette-Mail's David Gutman reported.

After Grubb died of an overdose in early March, police searching her apartment found eight pills were missing.

"For a recovering addict, it's like putting a bottle of bourbon in front of an alcoholic; it's just too great a temptation and it's just a thing that never, ever should have been put in front of her," said Jessie's father David Grubb. "She went home with, in essence, a loaded gun."

David Grubb, of Charleston, has become an advocate for increased treatment of opioid abuse, telling his story to President Obama during a town hall meeting on the subject in October 2015.

But after his daughter's untimely death, he has taken that advocacy one step farther. He's been in talks with Sen. Joe Manchin about a potential "Jessie's Law" that would require medical records to prominently display a patient's opioid addiction so all doctors and nurses treating a patient are aware and dissuaded from prescribing opioids.

Additionally, more than 60 medical schools nationwide, including WVU and Marshall, have agreed to add instruction in opioid prescribing to their required curriculum.

Those and other efforts, such as increased funding and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recently updated guidelines on opioid prescriptions, show the conversation about opioid addiction is beginning to turn. Instead of shunning those with substance abuse issues, political leaders, health care professionals and others are showing a willingness to learn how to better understand and treat addiction.

David Grubb hopes his daughter's death highlights the importance of cooperation. Funding for treatment, better understanding of addiction, improved prescribing practices and more accurate medical records are all ways to fight back against this epidemic.

"We're changed forever. We'll never be the same," he said. Unfortunately, too many families in West Virginia can echo that same sentiment.

Perhaps better understanding and cooperation will mean fewer families will have to bury their loved ones.

Dear Abby: How do I talk to my husband about putting his dog "Sunny" to sleep? My husband is the most loving, caring, generous person I have ever met, and I don't know how to tell him it's time to let his best friend go.

Sunny is 15 1/2 years old and can barely walk because of bad hips. The poor thing can see only shadows and is almost completely deaf. He has been like this for the last two years and is deteriorating steadily.

I'm trying to be understanding and supportive. I bought reusable diapers when Sunny could no longer control his bowels and bladder. I carry him outside multiple times a day and hold him up so he can urinate without the diaper. I wash him regularly after he soils himself. It is very sad. I keep hoping he will pass on in his sleep so my husband won't have to make the call, but he is still clinging to life.

It is difficult to bring this up with my husband because he knows I'm frustrated with constantly cleaning up pee and poop and washing bedding after there has been an accident. I don't want him to think I want him to put the dog to sleep just because it is difficult. It's just time.

Sunny's quality of life is zero. The only thing he can do is eat and sleep. Is that enough? Am I wrong? What should I say to my husband to put the poor animal out of his misery? - It's Time, in Reno

Dear It's Time: Your husband is doing his best friend no favor by letting him linger this way. What's going on now isn't fair to Sunny or to you. You might point out that dogs were put on this earth to run and play and enjoy their lives, something that Sunny hasn't been able to do for a long time.

Suggest he contact Sunny's veterinarian and talk to him/her about his beloved dog's condition, because I'm pretty sure the vet will agree with me. Then be prepared, because your husband may be so bonded with Sunny that he will need grief counseling after his dog is no more.

Dear Readers: A group of distinguished psychiatrists, the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP), needs help from some of you. They need feedback from gay, bisexual or transgender people, many of whom have experienced conflicts with their faith because of who they are attracted to or their gender identity. Many, while attempting "conversion" treatment, experienced great emotional distress, but never considered consulting a mental health professional because they had been discouraged from doing so by their faith community. Knowing the struggles you have experienced could benefit individuals who need help and haven't gotten it. Your input is important. It will give GAP psychiatrists a broader representation of people than they could get from any other source.

Thank you in advance for taking part in this important study. The Internet address to send your comments is mary.barber@omh.ny.gov. For those who don't have email access, GAP's mailing address is: P.O. Box 570218, Dallas, TX 75357-0218. In the past, readers have been generous in "telling it like it is," and I hope you will continue because your experiences are important. Your participation may help to effect positive changes in the treatment of patients. - Love, Abby

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

Rock 'n' roll comes with a very specific lifestyle. Weeks spent on the road, living out of motel rooms or the back of a bus, bad food and free-flowing booze are all part of the mystique of being in a hard-rock band.

That changes a little after the band's lead singer gets cancer.

Nathan Hunt said things with Shaman's Harvest changed.

"Yeah," he said. "It really did. It didn't change right away, but it was after I was in remission and was like, 'Look man, nobody is going to change things for you. You've got to.'"

So, Hunt led Shaman's Harvest, which performs Friday night at the V Club, in Huntington, to make some very not-rock 'n' roll lifestyle adjustments, particularly with what they eat.

"Now, we go to the grocery store and get a bunch of healthy food when we're on the road," Hunt said.

In 2014, while Shaman's Harvest was recording its current record, "Smokin' Hearts & Broken Guns," the singer was diagnosed with throat cancer and underwent treatment.

The cancer could have ended Hunt's career. It could have ended his life, but the singer responded well to treatment, and it didn't seem to hurt the record. "Smokin' Hearts & Broken Guns" turned into a success for the band.

The album spawned a couple of hits, including "In Chains," which is currently on the mainstream rock charts - not that Hunt pays attention.

He laughed and said, "That's totally a lie. I pay attention to the charts a lot.

"It's No. 13 on the building charts and No. 18 on the media-based charts. We're all pretty excited about that."

What's funny to Shaman's Harvest, Hunt said, is that the song came within a hair's breadth of not actually being on the record.

"We were done recording," he said. "The album had been sent off to be mixed, and then we put this together. It was just this little earworm."

They called the recording company and told them to "stop the presses." The band wasn't done.

"We're glad we did," Hunt said. "It's not just our strongest single, but it's one of our favorite songs on the record."

Another song they like is a cover of Michael Jackson's "Dirty Diana," which was almost a throwaway tune recorded on a day when Hunt said the band was flat out of ideas.

"We wrote most of the record as we were recording," he said, "but we found ourselves a little behind, with the mixing and stuff. We just had nothing to bring to the table one day."

The pop song was something Shaman's Harvest had played around with while on the road, even something the band talked about recording, vaguely.

"The studio was booked and the time was paid for," Hunt said. "So we went in and did it."

The singer said the band's producer, apparently not a Michael Jackson fan, thought it was a Shaman's Harvest song.

"I felt like, anytime you can do that, you ought to track it," Hunt said.

So they recorded it, too. The song also became a hit for the band.

Hunt said they're already working toward a new record, which they hope to get recorded somewhere between U.S. and European tours.

The hope would be to get a new record out by January, but that isn't a firm date. While "In Chains" is doing well, they want to tour and play as much as they can.

The travel can be a grind, but Hunt said they're handling it well. He's taking better care of himself, and eating what he's supposed to.

"I'm so sick of kale smoothies, I can't tell you how sick I am," Hunt laughed, and said, "There's the occasional squeezing in of a cheeseburger, but those are few and far between."

Reach Bill Lynch at lynch@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5195, follow @LostHwys on Twitter or visit Bill's blog: blogs.wvgazettemail.com/onemonth.

Today's "Just Press Play" comes from Steven Allen Adams, one of the go-to guys for podcasts and a lot more. Steven is active with HallowEast and is a member of the Solid Waste Authority. He's also involved with the local radio station WTSQ and a lot more.

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Whether I'm preparing for my ska show, setting up my podcast studio, or working at my day job, these are the songs and albums that pick me up, inspire me, or simply help me pass the time. Dare I say it, these are the albums that have affected me all my life. Let's take a tour of the songs inside my head.

The fifth album from the Boston-based third-wave ska band, it was my first introduction to ska music. You see, as a 14-year-old starting high school, I still wasn't allowed to watch MTV. I grew up in a Oneness Pentecostal home, so tuning to the channel that - at that time - still played music videos was a hell-worthy trespass.

One day I was channel surfing and came across these well-dressed men, some playing horns, dancing on a white background. It was the music video for "The Impression That I Get." I was an instant fan, quickly dumping my collection of Garth Brooks CDs in the trash. The Bosstones was quickly banned in the home, though I got around this by also listening to the Orange County Supertones, a Christian ska band.

The fourth album from the Canadian rockers was the first album I ever wrote a review for. Once upon a time I was a journalist, and that career came thanks to the love of reporting instilled in me at St. Marys High School near Parkersburg. I spent my high school years writing for The Argus as a columnist and opinion editor. This album came across my desk and I loved it enough to write a glowing review.

Everyone knows "One Week," which brought them mainstream success in 1998 and doomed bars to hearing crappy karaoke renditions. Go beyond the first track and you'll find that "Stunt" has a lot to offer, from the raucus "Alcohol," to the ballad-like "Call and Answer." The whole album is a solid alt rock collection.

This album was number six for the Southern California punk rock trio. Most of you young kids only know a post-"American Idiot" era of Green Day when they jumped aboard the trend of anti-Iraq War musicians. "Warning," on the other hand, was one of Green Day's worst performing albums, though it still garnered a gold record. It was also a more acoustic-themed album, which was a departure for the group.

"Warning" is track one and by far one of my favorite Green Day songs. If you hear this song when you're at the bar, know that I have taken over your jukebox. Despite being an acoustic song, it might be their most punk song. Its point is this: "Question everything, or shut up and be a victim of authority." Even the music video's lead character does all the things one isn't supposed to do, such as ripping the tag out of a mattress, running with scissors, etc. It's why I love punk and Green Day; the music encourages individuality.

Album four for the Bremerton, Washington pop punk trio, "Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo" was my first introduction to MxPx, thanks to some straight-edge guys I was running around with. There was a trend of bands in the late '90s that were Christian-friendly, but wouldn't come out say "Yes, we're a Christian band." Creed is probably most famous for this, as is POD and Switchfoot. MxPx employed this same philosophy. They were just Christian enough to not make one feel guilty, but not so Christian where you'd feel embarrassed for playing out loud with friends. "I'm OK, You're OK" is a constant favorite, as is "Invitation to Understanding" and "Set the Record Straight."

The first album from this Montreal indie rock ensemble, it is definitely the best album to start you on your Arcade Fire journey. I'm partial to "Rebellion (Lies)," which starts out with the lyric "sleeping is giving in, no matter what the time is." It used to be go-to quote to encourage myself to never be complacent, because lies take control when your eyes are closed.

I first heard this band when I was covering the 2008 Democratic presidential primary swing through Ohio, where Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were duking it out for the nomination. I was working for two news outlets at the time and traveled to Nelsonville, Ohio, to cover a visit by Obama to Hocking College, where he was introduced by U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller. Arcade Fire was traveling through Ohio putting on shows to encourage the youth vote to turn out for Obama. Two reporters I was traveling with said we should check the show out. I'm glad I did and I saw them again on their Reflektor tour in 2013.

Steven Allen Adams lives on Charleston's East End with his fiance Jessica and cat Belle. Adams is a communications specialist for the West Virginia Senate and worked as an award-winning print and broadcast journalist. In his free time he hosts "Noise Brigade" Mondays at 8 p.m. on WTSQ. He also produces podcasts, including "The Real" with Mark Wolfe and Section 304, a WVU sports show.

To Gregg Allman, there really isn't any question about how he could put together a band to replace The Allman Brothers Band after the iconic Southern-rock group dissolved in 2014.

Allman, who performs Wednesday night at Charleston's Clay Center, said, "It can be done, let me tell you. I've added horns, and I've got the best players I could possibly find."

"Every one of them is a teacher to me," the 68-year-old songwriter added. "I'm probably the least-talented cat in the whole band."

The new band isn't so new, actually.

Long before The Allman Brothers Band amicably called it a day two years ago, Gregg Allman had his side solo project, which he'd formed piecemeal over about seven years.

This incarnation of the Gregg Allman band, though, hadn't recorded anything in the studio until recently, when Allman booked time in the FAME (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the studio where the late Duane Allman first caught a break into music.

"My brother and I were there," Allman said. "We recorded there back in 1967."

But The Allman Brothers Band never did. Duane and Gregg did session work at FAME, and even held auditions for what became The Allman Brothers Band, but the fully formed rock outfit never cut a record at FAME, even though Allman said they both loved the studio.

"I don't know why we didn't," he said. "I guess it was because we were with Capricorn Records and they had their own studio. We probably saved a little money by doing it at their studio, but I've always wanted to go back."

Going back to Muscle Shoals to record just seemed to make sense at this point in his career, and it was an opportunity to do some things he'd put off for one reason or another.

"We're working with Don Was," Allman said excitedly. "I've always wanted to work with him. This is one off the bucket list."

The band members spent a couple of weeks recording in Muscle Shoals, and now they just have to wait until early next year for the release.

"Some of the new stuff is road tested, some of it isn't, but they all came out just fine, man," he said.

He is looking forward to sharing it.

After The Allman Brothers Band broke up, Allman could have retired, but he likes the lifestyle almost as much as the music.

He enjoys touring.

"I love it," he said. "I really love it."

In shows, Allman said, he and the band play a little bit of everything. They have old Allman Brothers songs, plus the songwriter's solo material, and even stuff beyond that.

"We play all of it," he laughed.

Performing is still fun, and he still has the energy to go out on the road. He considers himself fortunate.

It used to be that concert tours were to get fans to buy the record. Now, the records often act as a way to get people to come to the live show, where the artist makes money from ticket sales.

"The Internet has made making records almost a joke," Allman complained bitterly. "Everybody just steals it anyway, and there are things like Spotify. I don't think they even pay the writers. It's all bull----."

An artist who can't tour, he said, has a problem.

"What that means is that, no matter how old you are, if you ain't got the sauce to still go out there and play live, you're s--- out of luck."

So far, Allman's luck is holding. He feels good, has old songs, new songs and a full schedule.

"I've got five of my own festivals to play," he said, "and plenty of touring."

Reach Bill Lynch at lynch@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5195, follow @LostHwys on Twitter or visit Bill's blog: blogs.wvgazettemail.com/onemonth.

Saturday night, Parker Millsap comes to Charleston. The show, at the Municipal Auditorium with Old Crow Medicine Show, was one of the most anticipated concerts early in the season.

Millsap caused a stir during his 2014 performance on "Mountain Stage" with his song, "Heaven Sent."

People were weeping in the aisles.

"I never expected the response like that," Millsap said.

It was a powerful performance and led to the singer/songwriter being booked to return for FestivALL last June, where he and The Steel Wheels were supposed to perform at Haddad Riverfront Park, in Charleston.

It was a free show. A crowd started gathering early, but then the city was pounded all day by torrential downpours.

The show was canceled - except, not entirely.

"We played in the hotel lobby, right across the street," Millsap said. "We were there. The other band was there. We figured all these people had showed up. We might as well play a show."

So they did it unplugged, and the lobby of the Four Points by Sheraton was packed.

"It was great," Millsap said. "I love it when shows turn out to be weirder than expected."

Saturday's show should be protected from the rain, at least, and Millsap's set will include songs from his new record, "The Very Last Day," released last Friday.

The Oklahoma native said the new record is a little more diverse than his last one.

He said, "There's some character-driven stuff - like 'Heaven Sent' and 'Hades Pleads,' which are about specific people, but there are also some more confessional singer/songwriter things on the record."

The song "Pining," for example, Millsap thinks is, basically, a pop song.

"I wrote in my head while driving down the road," he said. "I was behind the wheel, on tour someplace. I don't remember, but it was pretty easy to write - just a song about when you want someone and they don't want you back. Who hasn't felt that?"

Millsap hadn't really been in a hurry to release a new record. The 2014 self-titled record he released did well, earned lots of critical praise, but before he finished that year, he'd accumulated songs.

His manager suggested he take a couple of them to producer Gary Paczosa in Nashville and see what he thought.

"We recorded some things together, just me and my band, at his house," Millsap explained. "We did two songs and he said, 'Yeah, you gotta do a record.'"

So they booked time at the studio a few months down the road while Millsap fleshed out what he had.

"We rehearsed them with the band for about a month," he said. "By the time we got to the studio, we were able to record most of the songs live and do overdubs wherever we felt inspired to do so."

Easy, he said. Real easy.

Millsap lives in Nashville now, and he's not really thinking about his next record yet. He has a full tour schedule, but he's still always laying away ideas for later, observing.

He likes to people-watch.

"I go to the mall, Opry Mills Mall," he said. "I like to drive down Gallatin Road, here in Nashville. It's this really, long stretch with houses, businesses, the YMCA and just a lot of interesting characters roaming around."

Reach Bill Lynch at lynch@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5195, follow @LostHwys on Twitter or visit Bill's blog: blogs.wvgazettemail.com/onemonth.

Jacqueline M. Parris Lamb RN, Ph.D., 76, of Trenton Ave., Regent Square, Pittsburgh, PA passed away Monday March 28, 2016 at Canterbury In-House Hospice after a courageous battle with ovarian cancer. She was the daughter of the late Hugh Parris and Louise Smith Parris. She was also preceded in death by her brother, John Fredrick "Freddie" Parris.

Jackie was a graduate of Clendenin High School, Alderson-Broaddus College and University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. She attended the Unitarian Church. For 25 years Jackie Lamb RN, Ph.D. was assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Nursing. Her specialty was in the area of Pediatric Nursing. She worked with Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and was so highly regarded by her students that many of them stayed in contact with her to the end of her life.

She was one of the pioneers of International Study at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Nursing. Jackie believed her experience as an international traveler through Europe and North Africa "opened her mind and propelled her to be a world citizen." She wanted to extend these experiences to her students. In 1990 she initiated a 2 week study abroad in England for her students. Later Jackie extended this program to a 5 week course based with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Palermo, Italy. Many students benefited by experiences with this program over the years. Jackie felt that study abroad offered Nursing students unique opportunities to grow professionally and personally.

In recognition of outstanding teaching contributions she was acknowledged as a University of Pittsburgh Chancellor and distinguished teacher in 1995. Jackie retired from the School of Nursing in 2001 but continued to work abroad with the study program. She believed strongly in Nursing and continued to be involved throughout her life. She frequently said "it's important to continue learning, life is exciting." She was beloved by her fellow faculty members and her students as well.

She is survived by: aunt, Emma Jean Smith; special cousin, Carolyn Weyant; and numerous other cousins; close friends and co-workers, Cathy Bender, Susan Albrecht and Olga Thuer; and many friends and neighbors in Pittsburgh where she lived for 40 years.

Funeral service will be 2 p.m. Friday, April 1, at Matics Funeral Home, Clendenin, with Pastor Archie Snedegar officiating. Burial will be in Koontz Cemetery, Clendenin.

Visitation will be 2 hours before, from noon to 2 p.m.

The family suggests donations be made to the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing in Jackie's memory. A memorial service will be held in Pittsburgh at a later date.

Online condolences may be expressed at www.maticsfuneralhome.com.

Alice Kellogg died March 25, 2016.

Surviving are her daughter, Nancy McTernan, and son-in-law; four grandchildren; and six-and-a-half great-grandchildren.

Graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Cunningham Memorial Park, Lower Mausoleum Chapel, St. Albans. Burial will follow in the park.

Bartlett-Chapman Funeral Home, family-owned and located at 409 Sixth Ave., St. Albans, is honored to serve the Kellogg family.

Sherwin H. Goodman, 91, died March 24, 2016 in Cleveland, OH with his family by his side. Born in Charleston to Mose and Ella Goodman on December 7, 1924, he graduated from Charleston High School in 1942. He joined the Navy that year and became a tail gunner in TBF Avengers off the U.S.S. Independence and Cowpens in the Pacific Theatre. He became a member of the Goldfish Club in 1943 (having survived going in the drink) and his squadron was credited with the sinking of the Japanese cruiser, the Noshiro, during the 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf, for which he received the Distinguished Flying Cross.

During the service, Sherwin corresponded with a former girlfriend, Shirley Rubenstein, and convinced her to travel to Natchitoches, LA and marry him March 3, 1945. After the war, they moved to Cleveland, OH where he graduated from Western Reserve University in 1949. He worked as a CPA until his retirement at 85.

In his youth, Sherwin was a member of B'Nai Jacob Synagogue in Charleston. When visiting here over the years, he would attend Shabbat services and often be called up to the Torah for an aliyah since he was a Kohen. His love of Judaism continued throughout his life. Before his illness, he was taking three courses a week at the Jewish Learning Connection of Cleveland.

Sherwin had a smile for everyone except slow drivers in front of him. He had a keen sense of humor and would have appreciated the fact that he broke the record for the shortest stay in Hospice (15 minutes after the paperwork was completed). He was a fun parent, being able to wiggle his front teeth partial and giving motorbike rides to the neighborhood kids.

He is survived by his two daughters, Linda Goodman (Eric Grossman) of Bloomfield, CT and Sherri Goodman Reveal (Jerry) of St. Albans, and his companion of nine years, Shirley Eppler.

Services were held March 28, 2016 at Berkowitz Kumin Bookatz Funeral Home in Cleveland Heights, OH with interment at Hillcrest Cemetery next to his wife Shirley who died in 2006. Sherwin's funeral may be viewed at http://www.nationalwebcasts.com/webcasts/Berkowitz - Kumin - Bookatz/chapel2.html.

In honor of Sherwin's memory, contributions may be made to B'Nai Jacob Synagogue, 1599 Virginia St. E., Charleston WV 25311.

Billie Franklin "Bill" Gardner, 91, of Belle, passed away March 27, 2016 at Quarry Manor Personal Care Home, Charleston.

Bill retired as an assistant director for Vocational Rehabilitation Services with the State of West Virginia, was a graduate of DuPont High School and later served as a chemistry and science teacher at his alma mater. He was an Army veteran of World War II, a member and deacon of Kanawha City Church of Christ and traveled with members of the church to Nicaragua for a medical mission. He was also involved in many other civic organizations in the area.

Bill was a member of Salina Lodge No. 27 AF&AM, the Beni Kedem Shrine, the Order of Jesters, Salina Order of the Eastern Star, member and treasurer of the Scottish Rite Bodies and also the 1993-1994 Past Grand Master of the M.W. Grand Lodge AF&AM of West Virginia.

Preceding him in death were his parents, Carl Dryden "Davie" and Pearl Aliff Gardner, and brother, Paul, who died in infancy.

Surviving are his wife, Thelma E. Gardner; sons and daughters-in-law, Carl Benton and Patti Gardner of Teays Valley and Dr. Billy F. II and Katherine Gardner of Athens, Ga.; grandchildren, Alex Gardner, Justin Paul Gardner and Alison Gardner Teague; and great-granddaughter, Merritt Teague.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 2, at Fidler and Frame Funeral Home, Belle, with Pastor Steve Fox officiating. Interment will follow in Montgomery Memorial Park, London, with Masonic graveside rites performed by the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge AF&AM of West Virginia. Visitation will be one hour prior to service time Saturday at the funeral home.

To send the family online condolences or sign the guestbook, please visit our website at www.fidlerandframefuneralhome.com.

Betty Lou Johnson Foster, 86, of Charleston, died Tuesday, March 29, 2016 at Hubbard Hospice House, Charleston.

She was born in Charleston, the daughter of late Albert Price and Velma Burch Johnson. She graduated from South Charleston High School in 1948 and was a lifelong member of the Church of God, headquartered in Anderson, Ind.

Betty enjoyed traveling with her husband and friends. Many trips were made to Cleveland, Ohio, where she cheered on her beloved Cleveland Indians baseball team. She loved to cook and prepare wonderful dishes for her church, family and friends.

Soon after graduation, she went to work at C&P Telephone Company, now Frontier Communications. She was a member of Communication Workers of America during her 36-year tenure at C&P. She was a life member of the C&P Telephone Pioneers, which she joined in 1969. She served as Pioneers president and travel coordinator for more than 15 years after she retired in 1984.

She also was president and trip coordinator for the Jolly Generation senior adult fellowship of First Church of God on Main Street for 17 years. After the Church of God left the West Side, she attended Emmanuel Baptist Church.

Surviving are her husband of 62 years, S. Ray Foster; two sons, Thomas Price Foster (Diana) of Cleveland, Ohio, and Daniel Wayne Foster (Janeene) of Charleston; sister-in-law, Evaleigh Foster of Dunbar; four nieces; one nephew; and several great-nieces and great-nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; two sisters; one brother; and a stepson.

Service will be 1 p.m. Friday at Bollinger Funeral Home, 420 Lee St. W., Charleston, with the Rev. Ronald Stoner officiating. Burial will be in Cunningham Memorial Park, St. Albans.

Friends may call one hour prior to the service.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to HospiceCare, 1606 Kanawha Blvd. W., Charleston, WV 25387.

Anne Jakubowski Cope, 91, of Hamilton, N.J., formerly of Oswald, died March 26, 2016. Service will be 1 p.m. Friday, April 1, at Tyree Funeral Home, Oak Hill, with visitation two hours prior.

Wayne Allen Cooper, 54, of West Hamlin, died March 27, 2016. Service will be 11 a.m. Saturday, April 2, at Koontz Funeral Home, Hamlin. Visitation will be 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, April 1, at the funeral home.