Casey Aaron Becknell

Casey Aaron Becknell was born in Forsyth County, Winston-Salem, NC on April 30, 1973. He was 46 years old and called Lexington home when he passed away on April 4, 2020 at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Casey was preceded in death by his grandparents, Ken Crayton Thelma Elizabeth Mullis, from The Town of Midway, and his mother, Lorica Myers Hutchins, also from The Town of Midway. His father, Ronald Bruce Becknell, was from Texas. Casey is survived by his sister, Shannon Becknell Griffin Jason Griffin; nephews, Zach Smiley (Samantha) and Caleb Griffin, and his great-niece and great-nephew, Eliza Waylon Smiley; his uncle and aunt Don Sharis Mullis McBride and their son, Crayton, of Bunnell, Florida. Casey was a graduate of North Davidson High School Class of 1991 where he made friends for life. His love of history and patriotism made him a knowledgeable and proud member of NC Sons ofConfederate Veterans. Casey loved his country and his southern roots. He was quiet, quick to listen, and slow to speak. A memorial service will be held at a later date, because of COVID-19 restriction. Words written by a friend of Caseys: Some days are just gut-wrenching. Most of you missed the privilege of knowing my friend Casey Becknell. He was one of the most unique young men I have ever met. It will be impossible to capture his personality and spirit in mere words, but as he has departed this troubled world, the urge to try is inescapable. Casey was a complex fellow. At once easy-going, affable, funny and conveying a wide-open personality, yet also signaling a well-read, quiet and deeper side. In the same moment, you felt you were with a good ol boy and a man of greater depth. He had a store of knowledge that he disguised in affability. You would not want to cross swords with him in matters of history. Casey loved the South, and was a proud son of North Carolina. Call him a Tar Heel or a redneck and he would beam, but he took our history with great gravity and his spirit truly wept at all we are losing. When UNC removed Silent Sam, Casey (noting the heritage violation) was, sure enough, there. And became an animated, living, breathing Sam. I have to say, Casey was so authentic that you wondered if you were not conversing with someone transposed from another time. He spoke volumes without saying a word. On his Facebook page, he correctly and typically answered Works At with Protecting Our Liberties. Just 18 weeks ago, he posted, In need of prayers tonight. My mother just passed away. Lord receive her with open arms. Momma, Im gonna miss you. It occasioned our last exchange. I wrote, Oh, Casey. Love you, my friend. God love you through all this. He replied, Yes, sir. I believe that 100%. Youre not alone, I reminded him, And you can see her again. This time, forever. Cant wait, were his final words to me. No, they do not. Casey lived out who he was, with no apologies. He was misjudged and misunderstood by an ignorant generation trained to write off people at first appearances. Those who talked to him learned about Casey, but also learned about their country. We are in dangerously short supply of patriots like Casey and it is painful to lose so sweet and faithful a warrior. Going anywhere, paying what he had to, to stand for vanishing truth against all odds. He leaves footprints---many of them bare---all across the Southland. Tonight he is mourned by his legion of friends who will miss his late night sign-offs: Good night, Dixie! A tribute to Casey that a friend shared by Henry Scott Holland, a small portion of the poem: All Is Well, Death is nothing at all. It does not count. I have only slipped away into the next room. Let my name be ever the household word that is always was. Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it. What is this death but a negligible accident?? Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just round the corner. All is well. Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost. One brief moment and all will be as it was before. How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again.