Laura L. Dillard, 87, of Greensboro, NC died January 3, 2021. Public viewing will be held from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Sunday, January 10, 2021 at Mary D. Perry Memorial Chapel, Madison, NC. The family will have a graveside service at 2:00 p.m. Monday, January 11, 2021 at Eden Garden Cemetery, Eden, NC.

Laura Lee Dalton Dillard was born on January 22,1933 in Madison, NC to the late Thelma Johnson and Ruben Boyd Dalton. She was the firstborn of four children. She departed to her heavenly home at the age of 87, Sunday, January 3, 2021. Laura grew up in the town of Madison, NC and graduated from Charles Drew High School in 1951. She married her sweetheart, Harold Lee Martin, soon after graduation. As a military wife, she lived in Virginia and Maryland for short periods. A daughter, Jennifer Althea, was born to this union on July 25, 1956. Unfortunately, Laura was widowed the following year, the lived at home with her parents and daughter for several years thereafter. During that time she went away for a short while to earn a certificate from La-Mae Beauty College in Winston-Salem, NC. Laura was a skilled hairstylist, but also had a passion to care for others and was an excellent cook. She was a hard worker and had several varied jobs, including restaurant cook, housekeeper, baby-sitter, home health aide, textile machine operator, and private sitter. Laura made friends easily and her friends quickly became like family. Laura had a hand in the rearing of many children. Anyone who knew her well also knew she just had to hold or cuddle every baby she met! Through a friend, Laura met “Jim” Dillard. They married on November 24, 1966. Theirs was a happy union until his death in 1999. Laura was an active member of Christian View Missionary Baptist Church for 47 years, serving on the ushers/nurses board, in the choir, and, of course, in the kitchen! She was an active supporter of her granddaughters’ Girl Scout Troop for over 10 years. Later in life, Laura decided to return to the religious roots of her parents and joined The Rock Hill Primitive Baptist Association in August of 2012, where she remained a loyal member until God called. Dillard was preceded in death by her husband of 32 years, James Arthur Dillard, sister Floretta Roberts, and brother Sam Ruben “Pete” Dalton.

To cherish her memory, she leaves: one sister, Louvenia Dalton Dudley; her only child, Jennifer Althea Martin Bingham; three grandchildren, Samantha Scales Boyd, Damon Scales, and Syreeta Bingham; grandson-in-law, Allen Boyd; seven great grandchildren, Da’Mia, DaMonica, Dakarai, Kadaire, Kandake, Lynzi, Sir Mason; two great-great-grandchildren;Ry’Lee and Ry’Lyn.