SALISBURY - Clonnie "David" Deese, Jr., 69, passed away Sunday afternoon, March 13, 2011, at Rowan Regional Medical Center.
Born July 9, 1941, in Rowan County, he was the son of the late CD "Tom" Sr. and Lizzie Ludwig Deese. He was a 1959 graduate of Granite Quarry High School, a graduate of Salisbury Business College and a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church.
Mr. Deese served our country in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam era and was an accountant and tax service preparer for more than 37 years, owning Deese Accounting and Bookkeeping.
David began playing and performing music at age 12 with his father, Tom Deese. His love of good music led him to become an accomplished professional bluegrass musician, playing his banjo for people such as Arthur Smith, Bill Monroe, Red Smiley, The Jones Brothers, Betty Fisher and the WBT Briarhoppers.
He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Museum in Owensboro, Ky., and was made a Kentucky colonel. He received several Lifetime Achievement Awards in North and South Carolina, including the N.C. Heritage Award.
Mr. Deese was also a member of Keller Memorial Lodge, Oasis Shrine Temple, Rowan Shrine Club and Order of Eastern Star in Rockwell.
Surviving family members include his wife, Barbara Bernhardt Deese, whom he married June 11, 1961; his daughter, Connie Dee Christman; his sister, Nina Deese Ridenhour and husband Don, both of Salisbury; grandchildren Connor Allen and Strider Lee Christman; and a number of nieces and nephews.
Visitation and Service: The family will receive friends Tuesday from 5-7 p.m. and Wednesday 2-3 p.m. at Linn-Honeycutt Funeral Home in China Grove. Funeral will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday in the funeral home chapel, conducted by the Revs. William Ketchie and George Kluttz. Burial will follow in St. Paul's Lutheran Church Cemetery.
Memorials: May be made to Rowan Regional Hospice, 720 Grove St., Salisbury, NC 28144; St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 205 St. Paul's Church Road, Salisbury, NC 28146; Shriner's Children's Hospital, P.O. Box 560666, Charlotte, NC 28256; Order of the Eastern Star Scholarship Fund, Attn: Fredia Nettles, P.O. Box 61660, Apex, NC 27502-9998; or to the donor's choice.
