Ella Kim Southard

Friday, Mrs. Ella Haisoon Kim Southard rose early as she has for nearly 91 years and joined her beloved husband Creston as she walked through heavens gates amongst such a celebration we have yet to even imagine. Ella was born in Ewa, Oahu, Hawaii into a life of poverty, but she lived a life rich in faith, love and forgiveness. She loved her family, her dearest Creston and especially her children; but most of all she loved God and was known for her abiding and deep faith. She was a kind and loving woman and while she was tiny in stature, she was gigantic in presence. She was meek and often tried to stay in the shadows and behind the scenes, yet one could not help but seek her out, drawn by her gentleness and compassion. She was loved by all who knew her. She raised her four children with great love and respect. Throughout her life she was involved in the lives of her family. She was a den mother and troop leader for her sons in Scouts and a girl scout leader for her daughter. She loved to camp and fish as well as sports and knew all of the teams, spending hours watching football, hockey and basketball. She was co-owner of Creston Water Tech with her husband Creston Southard, and when his new business was starting out, she went out and worked so funds were available to maintain the household until the business took hold. She was an award winning ballroom dancer and she loved to travel with Creston and her family. Daughter of a Korean Episcopal Methodist minister, she was Methodist all of her life. She is a member of Kingswood United Methodist Church. Preceded in death by her husband, Creston Randolph Southard, Sr.; mother and father, Rev. Chung Kun Kim and Susana Yue Oak Kim; sisters, Suzanne Kim and Adeline Gura; and brothers, Albert and Howard Kim. Mrs. Southard is survived by a daughter, Rachel Southard of Winston-Salem; three sons, Randy Southard of Winston-Salem, Dwight Southard (Tracy) of Durham and Dean Southard (Daphne) of Winston-Salem, grandchildren; Amber and Katie Southard; Meriella (Davie) Vanzant; Victoria Lopez; Preston, Roman, Soniya, Kelly, Stacy and Andriya Hardy; great-grandchildren, Sarah (Jeremy) Perdue; Kimberly (Jack Knight) Andrews; Ryleigh, Kendrick and Noah Hardy; Jocelyn, Josiah and King Lossie; great-great-granddaughters, Ella Mae Perdue and Bailey Catherine Knight and two sisters, Lillian Yoshida and Marguerite Matsumura. She is also survived by those that she adopted in love; Sara Parsons, Nikolas and Lukas Parsons, Jay Asbury and numerous beloved nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be conducted 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 15, 2014 at Kingswood United Methodist Church with Rev. R. Sidney Lanier officiating. The family will receive friends immediately following the service at the church. A committal service will be held at a later date. Memorial donations may be made to: Kingswood United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 399, Rural Hall, NC 27045 or Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home, 101 Hospice Ln., Winston-Salem, NC 27103. The family would like to extend a special thank you to special friends: Jimmy and Brenda Dezern; Rev. Sidney Lanier; Dr. Michael Coates and the staff of Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home.

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