JACKSONVILLE - Dr. Charles Eric Franklin, of Jacksonville, NC, went to heaven on Friday, August 28, 2014. He had battled pancreatic cancer with all of his will. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 PM on Tuesday at First Baptist Church in Jacksonville. A reception will follow this service at the Jacksonville Country Club. A second service will be held at 1:00 PM on Wednesday at New Sandy Creek Baptist Church in Henderson. Burial will follow in the New Sandy Creek Baptist Church Cemetery.
Dr. Franklin was born on May 18, 1937 in Henderson, NC to the late Charles Thomas Franklin and Mittie McKinley Parrish Franklin. His father was a tenant farmer on the Brodie Estate in Vance County. Dr. Franklin was the youngest of twelve children and the only one born in a hospital.
He attended Louisburg College and Elon College before graduating from North Carolina State University. He then went on to graduate from The University of Georgia Veterinary Medical School in 1966, with a degree in Veterinary Medicine. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Elizabeth Annette Stevenson Franklin, who passed away on April 23, 2010. They eloped in South Carolina when Dr. Franklin was a senior at North Carolina State. He started his veterinary practice in a trailer on Hwy. 24 in Jacksonville, where he practiced for three years. He was also a licensed general contractor and built Academy Animal Hospital, P.A. in 1969. Dr. Franklin operated his clinic as the sole veterinarian for a couple of decades before hiring Dr. Joan Wetta. In recent years he added a staff of veterinarians, Dr. Laurel Collier, Dr. Catherine Lewis, and Dr. Rachel Mowell. They helped make it possible for Dr. Franklin to enjoy his last years working on his farm with his boykin spaniels - Gracie, Annie and Whaler.
He is survived by his three sons, Charles Eric Franklin, Jr. and his wife, Kimberly Franklin, and their son, Charles Eric Franklin, III; Thomas Walter Franklin and his wife, Dean Franklin and their son, Michael Franklin; and Jeffrey Dean Franklin and his wife, Dawn Franklin and their daughters, McKinley Elizabeth Franklin and Morgann Heather Franklin. Survivors also include one brother, Melvin Franklin and one sister, Frances Ross.
Dr. Franklin was a true shepherd to his flocks, people, thousands of dogs and cats, his children and anyone else that he touched. Now His shepherd has called him to attend an eternal life, the one he so deserved and talked about every day.
The family will receive friends Monday evening from 6 - 8 PM at Jones Funeral Home, Jacksonville Chapel.
Funeral services will be held at 1:00 PM on Tuesday at First Baptist Church in Jacksonville. A reception will follow this service at the Jacksonville Country Club. A second service will be held at 1:00 PM on Wednesday at New Sandy Creek Baptist Church in Henderson. Burial will follow in the New Sandy Creek Baptist Church Cemetery.

The family will receive friends Monday evening from 6 – 8 at Jones Funeral Home, Jacksonville Chapel.