Harry and Whitney Spruill were laid to rest after a funeral service held Saturday at First Christian Church in Plymouth.
This couple, in the eyes of those who loved them, was living proof that the hardest beginnings can give way to the most beautiful lives.

Harkening back to radio broad- caster Paul Harvey, “And now for the rest of the story...” about Harry and Whitney – they led amazing lives that say something important about our community and Northeastern NC’s values of perseverance and a dogged drive to overcome challenges.

Harry was diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome and placed in fos- ter care before being adopted at age eight by a Plymouth family who would become his forever home. Whitney had arrived in the world on the first day of spring, 1989, and within months had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy — specialists told her parents she might never walk or talk.

Both had been labeled “special needs” before they were old enough to know what the words meant. Both spent their lives proving the labels wrong. Harry grew into a man of uncommon kindness, known throughout Plymouth for his willingness to help anyone who needed it, his deep faith, and his love of fishing the Roanoke River.

Whitney walked at 16 months, graduated from Terra Ceia Christian School — where she was the first disabled student ever admitted — made the volleyball team, earned the Governor’s Award for Volunteer Service, and built a life of quiet, steady purpose in the community that raised her...