September 8, 2026, 84, Mount Olive – Mrs. Cecille Kornegay Best, resident of the Mount Olive area, passed away early Tuesday morning, September 8, 2026, in the familiar surroundings of her home. She was 84.
Mrs. Best had spent her earliest years in Calypso, but was raised in Mount Olive. She was a member of the Northeast Original Free Will Baptist Church where in past years, she had taught Sunday school and had been active in the ladies auxiliary.
She had worked at the Mount Olive Tribune as a circular/sales paper inserter. She enjoyed gardening, especially tending to her beautiful red roses which adorned her back yard. Humble to a fault, she always put the needs and wants of others ahead of those of her own. A frequent sight would be Mrs. Best on her lawnmower, making sure her yard was immaculately cared for.
Mrs. Best is survived by two of her three sons, and two daughters-in-law, Doug Best of Mount Olive, Michael and Amy S. Best, of Mount Olive, and Sylvia Best of Clinton, widow of deceased son, Robert Allen Best; grandchildren, Andrew Sanders and wife, Rose, of Goldsboro, Ryan Smith and significant other, Alease Whitakers, both of Princeton, MIchala Herring and husband, Daniel, of Seven Springs, Mike Nelms of New York, and Ray Nelms of Ohio; several great-grandchildren; a sister and brother-in-law, Gladys K. and Bill Baker of Goldsboro; in-laws from the Best family, Duck B. Macon of Raleigh, Jeanie B. and Jimmy Merritt of Mount Olive, and Ronnie Best of Mount Olive; and several nieces and nephews.
In death, she now reunites with her husband, Robert Roscoe “Bobby” Best; a son, Allen Best; a daughter-in-law, Catherine Best; her father, Julius Kornegay; her mother, Lula Johnson Phillips Kornegay; a sister, Almond P. Miller and husband, John; and a brother, William Phillips and wife, Claire.
Family, friends, the Northeast Church famliy, and the community will gather on Saturday, August 12, at 10:00 a.m. at Wayne Memorial Park for a graveside service at which to remember her and the good life that she lived Officiating will be the Rev. Bryan Wheeler and the Rev. Sherman Dilley. The family will greet friends at the cemetery after the service, and at other times at the Best residence. Memorial gifts may be made to Northeast Church, attn: Geoffrey Merritt, 489 Northeast Church Road, Mount Olive, N. C. 28365
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