March 20, 1952 ~ July 15, 2025 (age 73)
Liston Douglas Spivey, Jr. died on July 15, 2025, in the loving presence of God and family, following complications from Lewy Body Dementia. Douglas was born in Whiteville, NC on March 20, 1952 and graduated from Whiteville High in 1970. He studied Zoology at NC State University, Music and Organ Performance at Meredith College, and Dentistry at UNC Chapel Hill. As owner of Spivey Organs, he refurbished several pipe organs in southeastern NC. He also worked as a general contractor to manage and develop properties.
After living in the Triangle for 20 years, Douglas returned to Whiteville in the mid 1990s. He was an active member of First Presbyterian Church Whiteville, the church in which he was baptized and active as a youth. He sang in the choir, rejuvenated the handbell choir, and served as Deacon and Elder.
Music was Douglas’s passion, gift, and ministry. Douglas began both piano and pipe organ at a young age, and played saxophone in high school and college. As a teenager, he rescued, restored, and rebuilt a pipe organ—which was housed on the family property, so organ music floated through the neighborhood. As an adult, Douglas performed with the Southeastern Oratorio Society. He was an active member of the Wilmington Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, serving on the Board of Directors and treasuring his experiences with the group.
Douglas was a supply organist for countless churches. He served Chadbourn Methodist Church, St. James the Fisherman Episcopal Church, and Grace Episcopal-Christ the King Lutheran before serving his beloved home church of First Presbyterian Whiteville as Organist/Music Director from 2007 until his retirement in 2023.
With a heart for service, Douglas volunteered through the church and on the city planning board. He was a Life Member of NC Wildlife Action, volunteering with building projects, youth summer camps, and stewardship of wildlife habitat and natural resources. Douglas cared for his parents L.D. and Dorothy, his aunts Cathleen White and Bessie Spivey, as well as his friend Chase Hooks in their final years. Douglas was blessed by many rich friendships and will be remembered for his sense of humor, intellectual curiosity, enjoyment of fellowship and a shared meal, musical talent, and desire to do good.
Douglas was preceded in death by his parents Liston Douglas Spivey, Sr. and Dorothy Davis Spivey. He is survived by his sister Ellen Spivey Harrison and her husband J. Wade Harrison; nephew J. Evan Harrison, his wife Emily Harrison, their children Natalie and Joshua; niece Allison Christine Harrison; and many beloved relatives from both Davis and Spivey families.
A celebration of life will be held at First Presbyterian Church Whiteville on Monday, July 21 at 1 PM. The service will be livestreamed: see https://fpcwhiteville.org. Family will receive friends in the fellowship hall after the service. Burial at Whiteville Memorial Cemetery will take place earlier in the day for close friends and family.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to NC Wildlife Action at PO Box 1314 Whiteville, NC 28472 or First Presbyterian Church Whiteville designated for the needy fund or music fund via https://fpcwhiteville.org/giving or 511 North Thompson Street Whiteville, NC 28472.
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