Ernest Lee Kimbro

Reidsville: Ernest Lee Kimbro, 93, formerly of 1370 Narrow Gauge Road went home to be with the Lord on Friday, August 21, 2015, at Penn Nursing Center. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 A.M., Monday, August 24, 2015 at Wilkerson Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Cleveland Duke and Chaplain Tripp Kimbrough officiating. The burial will follow at Reidlawn Cemetery with Military Honors. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the funeral home from 9:00 – 10:00 AM. On Sunday, the family will also receive friends at Joann Tate’s home (903 Elm Street) from 11:00AM – 4:00 PM. Mr. Kimbro was a native of Rockingham County and was the son of the late Jay and Effie Vaughn Kimbro. He graduated from Ruffin High School in 1941 and served in the US Navy during WWII from 1944 until 1946. He received four medals while in the Southwest Pacific and Star for the Battle of Okinawa. He was a charter member of Faith Christian Church serving on the Board of Elders, Board of Finance, Official Board, Parsonage Building Committee and several other committees. He married Vivian Powell in 1946. They lived and worked in Newport News, VA until 1961 when they returned to Rockingham County. From 1961 until his death, Lee owned and operated his farm on Narrow Gauge Road. During this time he also sold crop insurance and was a fertilizer agent. In 1976 he and his wife established E. Lee Kimbro Realty. He was very active in real estate, selling houses and land development, especially sub-divisions. He was a member of the American Legion, the Board of Realtors and served on ASCS Committee, now Farm Service Agency. He established along with his late wife, the E.L. Kimbro and Vivian P. Kimbro Community College Scholarships at Rockingham Community College. Along with his parents, he was also preceded in death by his wife of 53 years, Vivian Powell Kimbro; his brother, Thomas E. Kimbro; his sisters, Emma Kimbro Warren and Elizabeth Kimbro Talley. He is survived by his sisters, Mabel Kimbro Padgett, Joann Kimbro Tate and husband, William and Mary Kimbro Bratton all of Reidsville; sister-in-law, Wyomie Smith Kimbro and several nieces and nephews. Memorial Contributions may be made to Hospice of Rockingham County, PO Box 281, Wentworth, NC 27375.