Hale Siniard

The family of Hale Siniard, Jr., "Guis" to most, want to express their sincere gratitude for and pride in the remarkable life that he lived and his undying love. He was born August 24, 1922 and left us on March 16, 2018.

Guis was the husband of Audrey Auvil Siniard for 70 years. Their love for each other and their family was a blessing to us all. He was the beloved father of Ray, Linda, Claudia, and David; the father-in-law of Marie Holliday Siniard, Larry Nelson, Mike Bradley, and Debbie Pressley Siniard; the grandfather of Thomas & Cristy, Aaron & Amanda, Brooke and Casey, Cody and Jonlyn, Isaac & Lucy, Addison & Jeff, Jess & Hannah, Josh & Caren, Jeremy & Charmaine and April & Tyrone. He was the loving great-grandfather of Lillie, Nyx, Kylie, Jackson, Yates, Hannon, Matt, Jack, James, Nelson, Camden, Gela, Keenen, Charisteen, Tianna, Tyrell, and, on the way, Everly Boone.

Guis was born to Samuel Hale and Jennie Fortune Siniard, at home in a little cabin on the other side of the lake in what is now Deerlake in Brevard, which at the time was part of the Siniard family property. He was the fifth of seven children: Gaston, Bud, Dick, C.W., Guis, Bill (now the last living member of the birth family) and Molly Siniard Clark. He was blessed with many wonderful in-laws, nieces, nephews and cousins.

Along with his four living brothers he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, leaving his job at Ecusta to sign up immediately after Pearl Harbor with his cousin Rooster. He served aboard a mine sweeper and was a navy diver. His ship worked off the coast of Normandy for two weeks prior to D-Day in preparation for the invasion. He mostly served in the Atlantic but remembered crossing the Panama Canal shortly before the war ended.

When he returned from the war, he resumed working for Ecusta for a while before working with his father and brothers in the Siniard Moving Company. He was then co-owner of Siniard Brothers Contractors, a grading company. He left his imprint on many places in Transylvania County, building shoulders and overlooks on the Blue Ridge Parkway, the roads in Illahee Hills, Glen Cannon and Thomas Woods, to name a few. He did the original grading for the Fish Hatchery, Sycamore Flats, the current hospital and Pisgah Forest Elementary School. He was an artist with a bulldozer.

He was a man of vision and action who served his community. He was on the Board of County Commissioners for three terms, the first two being from 1964-1972 and again 1988-1992. He helped create the county's first EMS, with ambulances, and the Recreation Department. He decided to try, and succeeded, in having Silvermont and a trust fund to support its upkeep donated to the county. He was involved in getting city water to the Pisgah Forest business areas.
Guis worked hard with the State of NC to improve our local roads. He served on the Transylvania Welfare Board, which became the Social Services Board, for years. He was also on the Board of Directors at First Citizens Bank for many years. He continued his interest in politics and the betterment of all throughout his life. He was life-long member of the Democratic Party.

Guis sincerely loved his church and its people, St. Timothy United Methodist Church, and was a man of strong faith in God. He served in many capacities in the church over the years, including Lay Speaker all over Western North Carolina. He was a true reflection of God's love to the world.

He dearly loved his family, his home, his farm, and his neighbors in Little River, where he had happily lived for over 65 years.

A Celebration of his life will be held at St. Timothy UMC at 3:00 PM on Saturday, March 24, with family receiving friends afterwards.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to St. Timothy UMC or The Sharing House.