The Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster: 10 Years Later
MONTCOAL, W.Va (WCHS/WVAH) — At 3:02 p.m. on April 5, 2010, time stood still in West Virginia.
Twenty-nine men lost their lives in the worst coal mining disaster in the nation in 40 years.
Twenty-nine families are still left today to honor their memories.
For the last two months, Eyewitness News has worked to put together a 30 minute special report to air on the 10 year anniversary of the Upper Big Branch mine disaster.
The Timeline
April 5, 2010 – It’s mid-afternoon on the Monday after Easter. Words starts to spread that there’s been an explosion deep inside the Upper Big Branch Mine near Montcoal.
Around 8:00 p.m. that night, Massey Energy confirms that seven miners are dead and at least 19 others unaccounted for.
Five hours later, hope starts to fade, as 25 miners are confirmed dead and four still missing.
"This still continues to be a rescue operation. We have four unaccounted for miners. We are going to do everything in our power and in the mine rescue team's power to locate those people alive,” an official announces at a press conference that would soon grow to a media staging area filled with journalists from around the world.
An agonizing four days pass, with around the clock press conferences that updated the nation about the search for the four missing miners and the recovery of those killed.
"If we have any hope of survival and they are in the rescue chamber, they're still OK. That's the sliver of hope we have. It's a long-shot. Everyone has been up front about that because this was a horrible blast but if they are there, they are OK,” Governor Joe Manchin tells the crowd.
April 10, 2010 – Just after midnight, Manchin confirms the worst.
"We did not receive the miracle that we prayed for. We have accounted for the four miners that have been unaccounted for. We have a total of 29 brave miners who we are recovering at this time,” he says.
April 13, 2010 – Investigations into the blast are announced as Manchin appoints mine safety expert Davitt McAteer to conduct an independent investigation. "This investigation will, as we have done in the past, let the facts drive the conclusion,” McAtter says
April 25, 2010 – President Barack Obama attends a memorial service for the miners in Beckley. "How can we let anyone in this country put their lives at risk by simply showing up to work? By simply pursuing the American dream?” he tells the large crowd.
April 26, 2010 - Massey’s board defends the company’s safety record and tells reporters that the mine was in good condition before the explosion with routine checks being done just minutes before the blast.
"We really don't know what happened, again. All of the indicators are that at the start of the shift, everything was OK,” board member Stanley Suboleski says.
December 3, 2010 – Massey announces its polarizing CEO Don Blankenship will retire in a deal that will give him $12 million in cash. Blankenship had been with Massey since 1982 and served as CEO for 10 years.
"I realize we all have a role to play in life and people play that role. I do think that people need to search their heart and their mind for truth and try to base their positions on that,” Blankenship says in an interview with Eyewitness News right after his retirement was announced.
January 31, 2011 – Alpha Natural Resources announces it is buying Massey in a $7.1 billion deal.
February 28, 2011 – Massey security chief Hughie Elbert Stover is charged with lying to UBB investigators and trying to destroy evidence. He is later sentenced to three years in prison.
March 22, 2011 – Former UBB miner Thomas Harrah is charged with faking a foreman’s license while performing safety checks at the mine. He pleads guilty and spends 10 months in jail
"I do want them to go to jail. If they did the crime, yes, go to jail. That's what they deserve,” family member Clay Mullins says at the time. Mullins lost his brother in the explosion.
May 19, 2011 – McAteer releases his report that concludes Massey recklessly ignored safety, allowing dangerous conditions to build inside the UBB mine, along with putting blame on state and federal regulators for failing to adequately enforce mine safety laws.
"They did not protect or help protect these miners," McAteer says. "Was Massey a rogue operation? You have to look at the record and you have to say, I don't know how you could have assembled a worse record than they have assembled in the last several years,” McAteer says.
October 25, 2011 – A report by the United Mine Workers of America calls UBB “industrial homicide” and calls on the company’s top officers to be prosecutors for operating what they call a “rogue” company which completely disregarded safety.
December 6, 2011 – The U.S. Department of Justice announces a nearly $210 million dollar deal not to prosecute Alpha for any criminal liability it inherited when it bought Massey but certain individuals can still face charges.
"We're very much focused on continuing the investigation of individual wrong doing,” assistant U.S. attorney Steve Ruby says.
That same day, Mine Safety and Health Administration releases its own report citing “corporate culture” as the root cause for the disaster. "Our investigation uncovered systemic and intentional efforts by PCC (Performance Coal Company) and Massey to avoid compliance with safety and health standards,” US. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis says.
February 22, 2012 – Former UBB mine superintendent Gary May is charged with conspiracy to violate mine safety laws. He later pleads guilty and spends nearly two years in jail.
"If you put profits over safety and you risk miner's lives, you're going to go to jail,” U.S. attorney Booth Goodwin says.
February 28, 2013 – Longtime Massey official David Hughart pleads guilty to taking part in a conspiracy to violate mine safety rules and alleges that Blankenship was part of the conspiracy. After a federal court hearing, Hughart's wife says to reporters, "I can guarantee you he was talking about Don Blankenship. He threatened my husband's job on numerous occasions. This is common practice, common practice within Massey that they notify guards and anyone else under the property and if you do not do that, you are fired."
Hughart is sentenced to 42 months in prison.
November 13, 2014 – More than four years after the explosion, Blankenship is indicted on four charges. Prosecutors say Blankenship conspired to violate federal mine safety laws at UBB and provided advance notice about mine safety inspections. He was also accused of lying about Massey’s safety practices before the explosion. He was not charged with the miners’ deaths or causing the blast.
December 3, 2015 - During a historic trial that lasted more than two months, a jury finds Blankenship guilty of one charge of conspiracy to willfully violate mine safety laws, a misdemeanor.
"There was never enough to justify convicting Mr. Blankenship," his attorney Bill Taylor says.
April 7, 2016 - Blankenship is sentenced to a year in prison.
"Three hundred and sixty-five days sounds like a long time but these 29 miners it's just 12 1/2 days for each miner he killed,” Mullins says.
"It wouldn't have mattered what happened in this courtroom today, it wouldn't have been enough,” Judy Jones Petersen says. She lost her brother in the explosion.
The Families
Left to carry on the memory of the 29 men, their families and friends whose lives were forever changed in an instant 10 years ago.
At a mountaintop cemetery, you can find Tommy Davis. Alone with his thoughts and talking to his oldest son.
“That’s a good boy right there, though,” he said, admiring the picture of his son on his headstone. “He was something.”
"I'm thinking, you know, wondering what Cory would have looked like. What his baby would have looked like. I think about that all the time,” he said. "I tell him all the time but he can't hear me but if I could, I just want him to know that I love him and I miss him. And I would like to have another hunt."
"Cory Boy," he calls him, was the youngest of the miners killed at UBB. A fourth generation coal miner who loved the outdoors. He was 20.
"He's not been forgotten. I'll never let him be forgotten. I love him too much to just let it go,” Davis said.
But his pain does not start and end here at his son’s grave. His brother, Charles Davis, and his nephew, Josh Napper, also died in the explosion. Tommy was on his way out of the mine when it happened.
"It's hard for me to love something. It is. I can't. I struggle because pretty much everything in my family wise, or anything I've ever done that I loved is gone,” he said.
For Gary Quarles, the pain comes back in waves. “I ain’t forgot nothing,” he said of the last 10 years.
His heart is as broken today as it was then.
"Who this boy is and what he meant to me," he said as he tries to explain the pain in his heart.
"Like nothing that you could ever believe, you don't think could ever happen. Wondering, what's the next thing going to be?” he said of the chain of events that’s unfolded in the last decade.
His friends called him “Spanky” but his dad calls him Gary Wayne. He had worked underground starting when he was 18-years-old. He confided in others about the dangerous conditions at the mine just days before it took his life.
"You kept your mouth shut and you did what you was supposed to do and you go on,” Quarles said of the way Massey operated.
For all the pain 10 years has brought, he says just 10 second to say ‘I love you’ would be enough to bring him the peace he’s so desperately searching for. "That'd help a lot, that'd help a lot. To be able to just say that."
"It's just hard to believe it's been 10 years because my heart doesn't feel like it's been 10 years,” Shereen Atkins said. She lost her son, Jason.
"When I call out these names, I need the families to go in this room. Jason's, his was the third name and from that point on, it's kind of a blur,” she said of the moment a Massey human resources worker informed some of the families who had gathered together that their loved ones weren’t coming home.
A blur of a decade of emotions in the midst of a mission for justice that the Atkins family said they’ll never see.
"The commercials, running for office, trying to get his sentence overturned," Robert Atkins said.
Even with Blankenship’s conviction and year in prison, the families agree that it’s not enough for the man who had the power to shut the mine down and ultimately save 29 lives.
"He had a part of taking my son's life. He had a part. My son ain't going to get to live like he always wanted to. His dreams never got fulfilled,” Davis said.
"Nobody. Nobody's took the blame for 29 men being dead and they never will,” Quarles said.
“I just miss him,” Robert Atkins said. “I mean, there is a big hole,”
For the 29 families, time is one thing that has certainly passed. The pain and the hurt have certainly not.
“First off, I’d give him a big hug, tell him I love him and I’m proud of him. Proud of the man he had become before he was taken from us,” Shereen Atkins said.
The Play
A play being performed in New York City, tells the stories of the UBB miners and their loved ones. It’s called “Coal Country” and is comprised directly from interviews with family members.
Steve Earle performs the music for the show that will make up his new album called “Ghosts of West Virginia.”
The families' testimonies act as the building blocks for the documentary-style play that has drawn national attention and even brought UBB family members to New York City to see it firsthand.
The interviews were done by director Jessica Blank and her husband Erik Jensen in West Virginia in 2016.
"The words in the play are as the people said them to us. They're not things that we made up. We don't think of this as our story. We think of ourselves as channels and conduits for people who lived this to tell their story,” Blank said.
"It's really in a West Virginian voice which really struck people here in New York City,” Jensen said.
"There were 500 people working on bringing this play to life and the emotional connection that each one of those people has to this story is incredibly powerful. There were 250 people in that theater every night crying along with them," Blank said.
The theater was packed before the coronavirus pandemic forced them to stop performances. It’s on hold right now but the goal is to eventually bring the play to West Virginia.
The Memorial
On the side of Coal River Road, in the heart of coal country, there is a memorial to the men killed while mining coal.
The UBB Miners Memorial is where friends and families came when their community was uprooted by disaster.
From the moment you step onto the hallowed ground you feel a sense of the magnitude of what happened that day and all that was lost -- including hope.
Hope that they could be saved by the brave first responders and mine rescuers who are honored in bronze, standing at the entrance of the mine, reaching out a hand to the miners trapped deep underground.
A few steps away is a massive black granite memorial, rugged like the Appalachian mountains, surrounded by coal from the UBB mine.
On one side is a tribute to all who have worked, been hurt and died in mines, along with the long list of the men killed at UBB.
On the other side are the miners, etched in stone. Life-sized men standing shoulder to shoulder. Standing back, you get a sense of who the 29 men were. A symbol of their strength and their sacrifice. Underneath the men, a verse from the book of Mathew calls out, "come to me, all you who labor and I will give you rest."
The memorial was made possible by contributions from the coal and coal support industries, private individuals and local businesses. Ground was broken at the site in January of 2012 and construction was completed in early July.
The Town
The blast happened in Montcoal but just down the road is Whitesville, the closest town.
“It’s a very small community. It used to be a very vibrant, bustling community in the 80s and early 90s when coal was doing well,” David Hodges said.
These days, the town of Whitesville looks much different than it once did.
“There was people on the streets all the time. You know, this was a 5 and dime, this was Ben Franklin’s, Hadaad’s was next door. And you know, on down the line we had the bowling alley and the theater,” Garry Dickens, who grew up near Whitesville, recalls.
But the community still thrives off of one thing: coal. The backbone of a community ripped apart by the very thing it relies on.
“April 5th of 2010, I was at my residence. The assistant fire chief came to my residence and the emergency call came across his radio that there had been a mining accident,” Whitesville Mayor Fred Harless said.
"It looks like I've got a potential of 10 deceased, currently. Maybe an excess of 30 total injured,” Hodges, the assistant chief at the Whitesville Fire Department at the time, can be heard saying on a 911 call.
"I knew that something significant had happened,” he said.
“We're still trying to get a total number. They're still bringing fellas to the surface. It's just, it's a total disaster. I need all the resources you can give me,” Hodges tells the 911 operator.
Their worst fears confirmed. A moment that turned the community upside down in an instant.
“I remember leaving that night. I remember when we came off the hill, it was like folks were everywhere. There was national media, there was so many mine rescuers, so many state police officers. And then I remember the first time traveling back down to home to shower and it was just like, signs were up everywhere, everyone was holding out hope. Faith was a big thing,” Hodges remembers.
David Minturn, a pastor at a nearby church at the time, provided prayer and comfort to victims’ families. He was one of many who watched and waited at a local diner.
"Glued to the TV. Sharing any information they had. There was just a somber attitude,” Minturn said.
Nearly five days of agonizing pain passed, waiting for any hope of a miracle that never came.
The first responders were left with a grim task that still haunts them.
“I’ll never forget, the evening that the last body left. It’s still pretty heavy on me because it’s just like, ‘what just happened?’ You know, it was overwhelming,” Hodges said.
While time has passed, the memory of the disaster has not faded.
Tiny tributes still scattered around a town that will never truly heal.
“It’s a constant healing process and I can only imagine what the families and those other coal miners and mine rescuers, what they go through daily. It’s going to be a lifelong recovery for everyone,” Hodges said.
The Changes
Since UBB, 52 miners across West Virginia have died on the job.
In 2019, 24 miners across the country died in mining accidents. The U.S. Department of Labor says that’s the lowest nationwide total ever recorded.
There are, undoubtedly, fewer miners in general with the downturn in the industry but there are some who believe the numbers can be attributed to a more proactive safety approach.
"We could've been victims of our own success to somewhat. Mining conditions were so improved. Mining accidents were striking all time lows, low number incidents and the industry could've been lulled into a false sense of security,” West Virginia Coal Association Senior Vice President Chris Hamilton said.
A lull that was shaken by Sago in 2006 and then rocked to its core by UBB 4 years later.
Hamilton has 40 years of experience including owning a mine safety consulting firm. He says we’ve come a long way since UBB, with a renewed and unwavering focus on mine safety.
"I think the industry has shown continuous improvement over the past decade,” he said. “We have the highest trained miners you'll find within any jurisdiction, so we're very proud about that and pleased to see the safety record improving every day."
In the five years leading up to UBB, the number of mine violations in West Virginia each year stayed in the 13,000 to 19,000 range.
Over the last eight years, even with stricter enforcement, that number has been declining, coming in under the 10,000 mark in three of the last four years.
Other than 2017, the number of deaths has been five of fewer since 2014.
Director of Miners’ Health Safety and Training Eugene White says there have been numerous improvements this decade. Technological, physical and legislative, he says. He was quick to answer when asked what the one thing was that has helped the most.
"The coal mines are rock dusted better today than ever. Every coal company is rock dusting their coal mines,” he said.
As a mine inspector for much of his career, White knows first-hand about the importance of safety. He was there, on site, in the immediate aftermath of both UBB and Sago.
“Entirely two different scenarios of damage and destruction,” he explains.
"The one thing that I'll never forget about UBB is when we were recovering the last nine victims. The mine rescue guys, we formed a human chain of 140 mine rescue team members,” he recalls. “So we had to carry them and we passed them from one team to the other until we got them to the last ride.”
It has stayed with him for a decade.
The worst part of coal mining, taking an eternal toll on men like White, who have made it their livelihood.
White says it’s something you never get over. "No. No. Mine rescue, Sago changed me. It changed my life. It changed me as a person. It's hard."
The Governor
A central figure during the response to the disaster was Joe Manchin -- he was governor at the time.
Looking back, now Senator Manchin, can recall the tragedy like it was yesterday.
He says the first priority was clear communication. The mistakes of the Sago mine disaster and incorrectly announcing that 12 miners had survived was a difficult lesson they were not going to repeat. He says phones were confiscated and a line of communication established with families as a first priority.
“We’re going to make sure the families know what we know, every two hours, anything because they’re hanging on every word, now” Manchin said.
Around the clock, day into night. Updates to the public in front of hundreds of cameras. Manchin and the others becoming familiar faces on TV while delivering heartbreaking news.
He says it was the moments that no one saw, with the families, that have stayed with him.
"I remember sitting there at night, around 11 o'clock until about six in the morning is when you really got people talking to you because there's nobody else around and they would talk," he remembers. "And they want to tell you all the great things and all the wonderful things they've done, the life they've had and things of that sort."
"The wife of one of the section foreman and her two sisters were sitting with her. They were very quiet and I tried to get a conversation. The next day they wanted to talk, we started talking. They said they knew something would happen, it was just a matter of time. And then it starts making you think, shouldn't anyone who goes to work be expected to come home safe? But when a family member keeps thinking, I always thought this would happen. Her husband left her a letter saying something was going to happen. I'll never forget that. He knew because of the way it was being operated," Manchin recalls.
Manchin says those late night conversations have guided him over the last 10 years, passing bills to require more personal breathing devices, more rescue chambers and an anonymous tip line to report unsafe working conditions.
Reminding others, who didn’t experience this first-hand, of the sacrifices made by miners.
"Everything changes, 10 years later, you look back on it, their lives are still there. It's not healed, it will never heal. That hurt will never heal. The only thing they can do is hopefully know we made the changes that save somebody else. That's why I tell everyone, before you start trying to change the mining laws, the safety laws for miners, or any job, OSHA, any job...please think about the price people have paid for those changes to come," Manchin said.
The Miners
*Information courtesy Upper Big Branch Miners Memorial
CARL CALVIN "PEE WEE" ACORD
Carl Calvin "Pee Wee" Acord, 52, had worked in the mines for 34 years and was a proud member of the "Old Man Crew" at the Upper Big Branch Mine. He enjoyed fishing with his sons, working in his yard, driving his tractor and being "PaPaw" to his two grandchildren, Chase and Cameron. He is survived by his wife, Joyce Lynn, and sons, Cody and Casey.
JASON ATKINS
Jason Atkins, 25, of Foster was a 2003 graduate of Sherman High School, where he won all-state honors in football and baseball. He served as a member of the Racine Volunteer Fire Department and was an avid West Virginia University sports fan. Survivors include his wife, Amanda, his parents, Robert and Shereen Bowles Atkins, and his brother, Chris.
CHRISTOPHER BELL
Christopher Bell, 33, of Crab Orchard, was admired for his ability to draw and detail vehicles. He was happiest spending time with his wife, Angela, and children Alexis, Meadow, Christopher and Skylar. His parents, Christopher L. and Kathy Darlene Bell, also survive him.
GREGORY STEVEN BROCK
Greg Brock, 47, of Clear Creek, was an electrician at the Upper Big Branch Mine. He enjoyed spending time with his son, Greg Kyle Brock, and his fiancée, Patti Stover, and her daughters, Shayla and Brooke Stover. He was a NASCAR fan who loved to hunt and fish and who always had a vegetable and flower garden.
KENNETH A. CHAPMAN
Kenny Chapman, 53, of Fairdale was a roof bolter who had the ability to make others laugh. "He was somebody that always had a good time," a nephew said. Kenny also enjoyed hunting, fishing and working in his garden. He is survived by his wife, Laura, children Donna Griffith, Vicky Williams, Kenny Chapman, Jr., Michael Austin Chapman, Jason McMillion, Carl Massey and Jubal McMillion.
ROBERT E. CLARK
Robert E. Clark, 41, of Beckley was described by friends as a caring person who never met a stranger. He enjoyed spending time with his family, riding his motorcycle, fishing, hunting, restoring vehicles, golfing, working with wood and boating. He is survived by his wife, Melissa, and son, Steven Robert Clark.
CORY THOMAS DAVIS
Cory Thomas Davis, 20, of Cabin Creek played baseball in high school and followed his family members into the mines. He loved the outdoors, often spending weekends at a family camp on a mountaintop, hunting, fishing and putting his truck in the mud. He is survived by his parents, Tommy and Cindy Davis.
CHARLES TIMOTHY DAVIS
Timmy Davis, 51, of Eskdale, loved fishing, hunting with his bird dogs and riding his Rhino. His son described him as "the best hunter and fisher you've ever seen." He is survived by his wife, Diana, and children Timmy Davis, Jr., Cody Davis and Misty Dawn Cooper.
MICHAEL LEE "CUZ" ELSWICK
Michael Lee Elswick, 56, of Elkview was a dedicated coal miner for 36 years. He was a member of the Dunbar First Church of God. Family members described him as a rock. "When things fell apart, he was there," his daughter said. He is survived by his wife, Bobbie; son, Jeremy Elswick; daughter Jami Cash.
WILLIAM ILDON "BOB" GRIFFITH
William "Bob" Griffith, 54, of Glen Rogers, came from a family of miners and went to work in the mines as a young man. When he wasn't working, Bob and his wife, Marlene, worked on their 1967 Camaro. Also surviving are a daughter, Deborah Lynn, and a son, William James.
STEVEN "SMILEY" HARRAH
Steve "Smiley "Harrah, 40, of Cool Ridge was described as a thoughtful man who would always offer a helping hand. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army and enjoyed hunting, fishing and playing cards. He was devoted to his wife, Tammy, and six-year-old son, Zach, who survive him.
EDWARD DEAN JONES
Dean Jones, 50, of Beckley, was a hard worker who was devoted to his wife, Gina, and son, Kyle Dean, who has cystic fibrosis. Father and son were exceptionally close and shared a love of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the West Virginia Mountaineers. Dean's mother, Ruby Nell Lafferty Jones, also survives.
RICHARD K. LANE
Rick Lane, 45, of Cool Ridge loved running coal and was known for never asking his men to do anything he would not do himself. He was an avid hunter and fisherman and looked forward to retiring to tend to his horses and cattle on his 25-acre farm. He is survived by his wife, Kim, son Rob and grandson Brody Parker Lane.
WILLIAM ROOSEVELT LYNCH
Roosevelt Lynch, 59, of Oak Hill, worked in the mines for more than 30 years while also working as a substitute teacher and basketball, football and track coach. He also served as a devotional leader and praise team leader at the Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Minden. Survivors include his wife, Geneva; son, Mon; and daughter, Miki Rogers.
JOE MARCUM
Joe Marcum, 57, of Laurel Creek, Lenore, was a coal miner for 35 years and a charter member of the Lenore Volunteer Fire Department. He was a member of the Church of the Living God and was a mainstay in Mingo County politics. His wife, Kathy, and daughters, Kathy Jo Marcum and Garnet Murphy survive him.
RONALD LEE MAYNOR
Ronald Maynor, 31, of Clear Creek, was described as a kind person who was always willing to help anyone who needed him. He enjoyed hunting and took his children fishing, hunting, and for rides on his four-wheeler. Survivors include his wife, Helen, daughter Kaitlyn, son Hunter, and parents, Nancy Burgess and Ronald K. Maynor.
NICOLAS DARRELL MCCROSKEY
Nicolas McCroskey, 26, of Beckley was described as "full of life" and "sweet and helpful and kind-hearted" by a longtime friend. A graduate of Bluefield State College with an engineering degree, he loved hunting, fishing, water sports and riding his Harley Davidson. He is survived by his mother, Debbie Lynn McCroskey.
JAMES E. "EDDIE" MOONEY
Eddie Mooney, 51, of Ashford loved hunting, fishing, camping and taking his 1978 Corvette out for a cruise on the weekends. He was a member of the Rumble Community Baptist Church and is survived by his wife, Sheila, daughter Misty Case, and son Austin Mooney.
ADAM KEITH MORGAN
Adam Morgan, 21, of Pineville, wore No 24 on the Wyoming East High School football team that went to the state Class AA playoffs during his senior season of 2006. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, four-wheel riding, grilling and being outdoors. He is survived by his parents, Steve and Tammy Church Morgan.
REX L. MULLINS
Rex Mullins, 50, of Lively, was an outdoorsman and an ardent West Virginia Mountaineer fan. Survivors include his wife, Brenda; son Jason; daughter, Geneva Blake; stepchildren Jeremy Walker, Tessa Walker and Joseph Walter, and his mother, Joan Bailey Mullins.
JOSHUA SCOTT NAPPER
Josh Napper, 25, of Salem Center, Ohio, was a nurse and an avid body builder who loved the outdoors, camping, dancing and riding his four-wheeler. He wrote a note to his family members, "If anything happens to me, I will be looking down from heaven." He is survived by his daughter, Jenna Leigh, fiancée, Jennifer Ziegler; and parents, Scott and Pam Napper.
HOWARD D. "BOONE" PAYNE
Boone Payne, 53, of Cabin Creek, was described as a gentle giant with flaming red hair who would go out of his way to help people. He loved hunting, fishing and basketball. He is survived by his son, Jason, daughter, Erica, father, Howard Daniel Payne, Sr., and fiancée, Bobbie Pauley.
DILLARD EARL “DEWEY” PERSINGER
Dewey Persinger, 32, of Crab Orchard loved being with his family and he enjoyed country music. He is remembered as being dedicated to his family and his friends. He leaves behind his wife, Heidi; two sons, James and Devin; and his parents, Delmas and Ada Bolen Persinger.
JOEL R. "JODY" PRICE
Jody Price, 55,of Beckley was a coal miner, a veteran of the U.S. Navy and a member of Saint John United Holiness Church. He was known for his frequent family barbecues. His survivors include his wife, Dorean; stepsons John Jones, Alan Johnson and Matt Jones.
GARY WAYNE QUARLES
Gary Wayne Quarles, 33, of Naoma was a caring father and son who enjoyed spending time with his family, hunting, fishing and riding four-wheelers. He is survived by his children, Trevor and Rebekka, and his parents, Gary and Patty Quarles.
DEWARD ALLAN SCOTT
Deward Scott, 58, of Montcoal, was an avid outdoors-man who loved to hunt and fish. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army. He is survived by his wife, Crissie Lynn; a daughter, Jennifer Ann and a son, Daniel Allan.
GROVER DALE SKEENS
Grover Dale Skeens, 57, of Montcoal, found religion late in life and had a strong church involvement. He was a veteran of the U.S. Marines . "Mostly his passion was work," according to his brother-in-law. "He started out in the coal mines at an early age. He's been working there for almost 30 years." He is survived by a daughter, Renee Bishop, and a son, Jeff Skeens.
BENNY RAY WILLINGHAM
Benny Willingham, 61, of Corinne, had been a coal miner for 30 years and was five weeks away from retirement. He was a Vietnam veteran of the U.S. Air Force. At his funeral, Benny was remembered as a generous and religious man who was known for random acts of kindness. He is survived by his wife, Edith Mae; daughter, Michelle McKinney; sons, Jody Canada and Patrick Canada; and his mother, Cleo Roach.
RICKY WORKMAN
Ricky Workman, 50, of Colcord, had a passion for wheels. He loved his Harley-Davidson and in the summer drove miniature race cars. He is survived by his wife, Annette, daughters, Monica White, Heather Whitt and Chantal Hale, and seven grandchildren.