KENNETH R. WALTERS
Kenneth R. Walters, 62, passed away unexpectedly on July 12, 2026 with his dog Winston, by his side. He lived and worked many years as a medical engineer in North Carolina, where his children were born and raised. After retirement, he moved back to his hometown of Auburn, where he enjoyed many outdoor activities such as being on the lake, kayaking fishing and boating. He was a member of a Ham Radio Club and worked as a spotter for severe weather in Lee County. He had a passion for teaching and helping people of all ages.
He is preceded in death by his father, Marvin R. Walters; brother, Keith Walters; and brother-in-law, Mike Neely. He is survived by his two children, Rebecca Walters and Alex Walters, both of North Carolina; his mother, Christine Walters; sisters, Anita Neely and Angela Sheflin (Kevin); several nieces and nephews.
He is also survived by his most beloved canine companion, Winston, who was by his side at all times. He will be missed by his family and many friends he made while walking his dog at Kiesel Park. The family will hold a celebration of life service in September or October of this year. The family will announce the date once finalized.
JUNE ANNE RASH PILEY
June Anne Rash Piley, 75, passed away peacefully at home on July 6, 2026, with family at her side.
Born on June 1, 1951, in Orlando, Florida, June Anne Rash Piley was the beloved daughter of Raymond Levi Rash and Mary Elizabeth Vernon Rash. She was raised in Orlando, where she spent her early years surrounded by the love of her family.
In 1973, June married the love of her life, David Allen Piley. Together they built a life centered on love, faith and family, sharing more than five decades of marriage filled with devotion, adventures and cherished memories. Their love for each other was unmatched and inspiring to everyone around them.
June devoted her professional life to education and the success of others. She worked as an English teacher before serving as a literacy program director, where she found her true calling in helping others. She was deeply committed to teaching adults to read, write and earn their GEDs, believing that education could transform lives. Her patience, encouragement and compassion empowered countless students to achieve goals they once thought were beyond their reach.
June was known for her kind heart, gentle spirit and unwavering love for her family and friends. She had a quiet strength, a generous nature and a gift for making others feel welcomed and cared for. Her greatest joy came from those she loved, and she treasured every moment spent with her family.
She was preceded in death by her beloved son, Steven Travis Piley.
She is survived by her devoted husband of 52 years, David Allen Piley; her loving daughter, Tracy Renee Piley Koerper; her son-in-law, Gregory Eldon Koerper; her grandson, Ryan Nicholas Koerper; her granddaughter, Lauren Nicole Koerper; her two great-grandsons; her sister, Theresa Rash of Carrboro, North Carolina; her brother, Glen Rash of Casselberry, Florida; as well as extended family members and many dear friends who will forever cherish her memory.
A memorial service celebrating June’s life was held on Wednesday, July 22, at 2 p.m. at Frederick-Dean Funeral Home in Opelika.
Though her passing leaves an immeasurable void, June’s legacy of love, compassion, steadfast devotion to her family and lifelong commitment to helping others will continue to live on in the hearts of all who knew her. She will be remembered for her warmth, her grace and her loving spirit.
Frederick-Dean Funeral Home assisted the family with arrangements.
JOHN FRANKLIN CARVER
John Franklin Carver, born on July 15, 1932, passed away peacefully on July 17, 2026, at the age of 94. He was a beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, whose presence will be deeply missed by all who knew him.
John was preceded in death by his parents, Wm Terrell Carver and Bessie Lee (Davis) Carver; and his siblings, William “Bill” Carver (Bonnie), Shirley Locklear (Allen) and Robert Carver.
He is survived by his devoted wife, Connie R. (McAlister) Carver, with whom he shared 34 wonderful years. His legacy continues through his children: Susan Carver, Mark Gabriel Sedlak (Holley), Scott Weaver and Cheri Weaver Parrish (Steve).
He was a proud grandfather to Ayden Sedlak, Hudson Sedlak, Adelyn Sedlak, Jack Parrish (Julia), Reid Parrish (Madeline), Grace Parrish, Andy Parrish, Drew Weaver (Claire), Dylan Weaver and Mary Catemann Peters. His great-grandchildren Margaret Weaver, Owen Weaver and Raelyn Parrish, brought him immense joy.
After serving honorably in the Marines for two years, John utilized the GI Bill to attend the University of Georgia, where he studied drama. Following graduation, he pursued his passion for the arts in New York, performing off-Broadway for six years. Eventually, he returned to his hometown of East Point, Georgia, where he dedicated 16 years to the fire department before retiring.
In 2007, John and Connie moved to Opelika, where he found spiritual fulfillment and gave his life to the Lord at First Methodist Church in 2009. He spent his final years as a resident at Bill Nichols Veterans Home in Alexander City, where he received exceptional care from the dedicated staff, for which his family is profoundly grateful.
A funeral service was held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, July 21, at First Methodist Church of Opelika, with Pastor Brent Gilstrap officiating.
John Franklin Carver will be remembered for his unwavering love for his family and his steadfast faith. His memory will forever remain in the hearts of those who loved him.
BEVERLY JONES FICKEN
Beverly Jones Ficken was welcomed into Heaven by her Savior on the afternoon of July 15, 2026. She was able to briefly return to her home in Auburn after a lengthy hospital stay in Atlanta and was surrounded by her husband, mother, children and friends as she joined her father and other loved ones for eternity.
Beverly was the daughter of Joyce and Tommy Jones and lived her entire childhood in Montgomery. Beverly would say she had the best childhood possible. Her dad loved her and taught her to be the lady she would become. He demonstrated a consistent, strong, lifelong faith in Jesus that was evident to all. Her mom also loved Jesus and instilled in Beverly the value of people, the joy of a generous spirt and the gift of caring that Beverly gave to everyone around her.
Beverly was deeply loved by her older brother Chuck — although in the early years, he often showed it in the way big brothers do. He dismembered more than one of her dolls and picked on her to no end. However, as childhood turned into jobs and homes and minivans and raising children, the two leaned on each other in a special way.
Beverly also loved — and was loved by — her younger brother Gary. Beverly prayed for a younger brother and when Joyce and Tommy obliged, Beverly believed Gary was actually her child and treated him that way her entire life. In his early years, it was her job to dress him and spoil him. Later, she would be his confidant, when adult, parenting and life decisions became the focus.
Beverly spent her childhood surrounded by a father and brothers who loved the outdoors and sports, but to be clear, she was never a sports person and often hid from her teachers at PE. Instead, she loved to dance and sing and read — and read — and read. This love of reading fed an inquisitive spirit. She was always learning. She always wanted to know more which moved her to the top of every class and made her an exceptional teacher later in life.
Few people know that Beverly didn’t make a B in any school subject until organic chemistry during her sophomore year in college. To correct this injustice, she promptly gathered a coalition of fellow students, met with the university president and had the professor fired. True story.
Growing up, Beverly and her family were a constant presence at Eastern Hills Baptist in Montgomery. Beverly’s friend group and early social calendar revolved around church activities in the youth group. She was an active part of the youth choir, ensembles, Wednesday night activities, backyard Bible clubs, summer youth camps and other ministry events.
During one Wednesday night, a young man who had just recently started attending Eastern Hills, noticed her walking into the church gym. Within two weeks, he had her mother introduce them in their kitchen. Beverly held out, but he pursued her for another year and a half before she agreed to go with him to their high school football game — their first date. That first encounter became a lifelong love story between Beverly and her boyfriend-turned-husband, David. The two dated from her sophomore year in high school until they were married just four days shy of her 21st birthday.
Beverly’s relationship with Jesus became real to her the summer after her sophomore year in college and shaped the remainder of her life. In life and in death she would say, as she often did, that the only thing that truly matters is Jesus.
Beverly’s testimony is simple and profound. Like many people, she first believed she was destined for Heaven because she was born to godly parents who took her to church. Later, as she excelled at all the things this world valued, she believed that God valued her as well. She was beautiful. She was beyond smart. She could sing like an angel. She was a friend to all.
However, what came crashing down on her one summer night was that her earthly resume didn’t matter. Despite whom she was on the outside, she was a sinner who needed a Savior. Church attendance had nothing to do with it. Impressing her teachers and her friends had nothing to do with it. Beauty pageant wins, recognition, awards and popularity could not save her. She would be the first to tell people that it was her pride in her own achievements and her contentment with the excellent life she had made for herself that blinded her to the truth that only the work Jesus did on the cross on her behalf brought her into a relationship with her Creator.
Beverly is not in Heaven because she attended church every week or simply followed in her parents’ footsteps. She is not in Heaven because she was beautiful, smart, accomplished and an amazing person. Beverly is in Heaven because she recognized — and accepted — that Jesus paid the debt for her sins, and only through the work He did on her behalf, could she have a right and everlasting relationship with God, her Heavenly Father.
By grace. Through faith. Forever.
From that moment on, it was this relationship with Jesus that satisfied her soul in the best of times and gave her the steadfast faith she needed to battle through the worst of times.
This understanding — this clarity — became the cornerstone of her life as a wife, a classroom teacher, a mother, a mentor and a friend. It did not take long for her to remind anyone that met with her that Jesus was the source of truth and the only person that could satisfy us, give us our worth and provide the direction we needed through life’s joys and struggles and decisions. She was a great listener. She was wise. She knew scripture. She knew heartache and setbacks. She was hilarious. She knew joy. She loved to laugh. She was so patient. She loved to be with her family and friends. She was one of the few people who understood time was best spent together.
While she loved so many, Beverly loved her children first and best. From an early age, Beverly believed that her highest calling was to be a mother, and when that did not come easily, she fought for it. After years of infertility, she was the first to talk about adoption. What David and Beverly would come to learn is nothing fully demonstrates God’s eternal, redemptive plan for our lives more than the process of earthly adoption.
In one loving, willing, sacrificial act, everything that is mine is now yours. You who were fatherless and without a family are now instantly adopted into a forever family.
This is the plan of salvation designed for all of us by our Heavenly Father. Because of our inherent sinful nature, we all start out as orphans seeking to be known and loved. We spend our lives wandering this world, looking for love and acceptance, yet only God can satisfy this deepest longing. He provided a way to adopt us into His family forever through Jesus’ loving, willing and sacrificial death on the cross. This is the Good News — the Gospel — that earthly adoption makes so clear. It is beautiful, incomprehensible and God’s plan for all of us.
Beverly and David adopted their first daughter, Neilly. She has become an amazing young woman and recently gave them the joy of their first grandson. Through more treatments — and setbacks — Beverly got pregnant with their son, Jon Hunt, who is now on his own journey to grow his family. For him, too, it has not come easy, but his mother has already modeled what it looks like to never give up.
Not to end there, Beverly and David traveled halfway around the world to find Lilia, their second daughter who is talented, beautiful and forever a daddy’s girl. In an unknown act of mercy and grace, God brought all three children and their families to live in the Auburn area over the last few years, and all were present as Beverly fought through her final battles with cancer.
Beverly poured into each one of her children uniquely, provided the love and wisdom and instruction they needed with quirkiness and humor that will last a lifetime. As her days ended, she could take comfort in the fact that her children loved her, loved each other and loved Jesus. Well done.
Beyond her home, Beverly also offered love, wisdom and friendship to so many.
To her last day here, she reaped the reward of lifelong friendships. It is so rare to find someone who was able to maintain deep, unique, meaningful and lasting relationships with childhood friends, with high school friends, with college friends, with family, with people she met as a young married mother, with people she met when life got complicated and separated by miles, with countless young women who would seek her out just to sit and talk with them, with her adult children and their friends and with her beloved husband of 39 years — plus seven more as her biggest cheerleader in high school and college.
Yet, Beverly had all of these people at her bedside in the days before she left.
She will be missed by all who knew her, but for those that did, we rejoice in the knowledge that, as usual, she was an overachiever and simply beat us to Heaven. We will all be reunited soon and join her in singing the song of the redeemed, forever.
