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CARTHAGE – A Guilford County native was among the eight victims of the Carthage nursing home shooting, according to information obtained by the Associated Press.

Margaret Johnson, 89, was originally from Guilford County. A homemaker, Johnson lived much of her life near Pittsboro in Chatham County where she was a member of Sapling Ridge United Methodist Church.

She outlived her husband, Otto Johnson, a daughter and two sons. She is survived by a son, five grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

Information about other victims in the Sunday morning shooting:

Jerry Avant, 39

Jerry Avant had planned in August to marry his girlfriend, Jill DeGarmo.

They lived in Carthage, and both were working Sunday at Pinelake Health and Rehab Center.

DeGarmo said she was in a room with patients when the shooting began, rushing out to see Avant as soon as the firing stopped.

She said he asked her to pray with him before paramedics took him to the hospital, where doctors told her his heart stopped twice before he died during surgery.

Avant's father, Jerry W. Avant, said his son served in the Coast Guard for about 10 years, decided to try nursing and "got into it."

A neighbor and fishing buddy, Carl Williams, said Avant loved his nursing job, had taken a course to further his career and had an exam coming up. "Jerry had a big heart," Williams said. "He found good in everybody."
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Louise DeKler, 98

Louise DeKler lived an independent life in a fifth-floor New Jersey apartment well into her 90s, only moving to North Carolina to be closer to family.

Her daughter, Linda Feola of Carthage, said her mother hung out in the recreation room at Pinelake Health and Rehab, playing pool while doing her laundry.

"She had her own pool stick and a boom box," Feola said.

"She used to go down there with her pool stick and wait for the young guys to come and play."

After suffering a stroke four years ago, she moved into a Carthage nursing home and later Pinelake after a second stroke in March.

She was close friends with fellow victim John Goldston, with whom she ate nearly every day and high-fived as their wheelchairs passed in the hallway.
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Lillian Dunn, 89

Lillian Dunn lived in the same white house, with more than a dozen flower beds of red and yellow, from 1953 until arriving at Pinelake Health and Rehab about a year ago. A retired textile mill worker, her hobbies included quilting, canning fruits and vegetables, and cooking meals for her family.

"She baked the best chocolate pies I've ever eaten," said her daughter-in-law, also named Lillian Dunn.

Family often visited Dunn, who checked into Pinelake after failing to recuperate fully from knee surgery.

She is survived by three children, and her grandson, Keith Dunn, said she had 10 grandchildren and even more great-grandchildren.
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Tessie Garner, 75

Before coming to Pinelake Health and Rehab Center, retired poultry farmer Tessie Garner had never strayed far; she was a native of Moore County.

The 75-year-old widow leaves behind four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. She is also survived by two sisters and three daughters.
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John Goldston, 78

John Goldston moved to Pinelake Health and Rehab in January, having lived in a nursing home for about five years after suffering several debilitating strokes.

He was a native of the Goldston community in Chatham County. An avid fan of the North Carolina Tar Heels, he loved putting puzzles together and was a good friend of another shooting victim, Louise DeKler.

He is survived by a daughter and three sons; a sister; 14 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
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Bessie Hedrick, 78

Bessie Hedrick moved into Pinelake Health and Rehab after suffering a broken hip a few months ago.

Although Hedrick had begun experiencing symptoms of dementia, friend Fatima Groce said the 78-year-old seemed to be improving.

"I was hoping she'd be able to go home," Groce said.
Friends for more than 50 years, Groce said she had come to visit Hedrick Sunday afternoon but was turned away by officials. She was later informed at a local church that Hedrick was killed in the shooting.

"I just can't believe anyone would do such a thing," Groce said.
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Jesse Musser, 88.

Jesse Musser moved into Pinelake Health and Rehab just six weeks before Sunday's shooting, said his daughter, Holly Musser Foster.

The 88-year-old was a retired railroad mechanic and gunsmith. He was raised alongside nine siblings in Mullens, W.Va., a small town 80 miles south of Charleston.

"My daddy could do anything in the world," Foster said of her father's passion for woodworking. "He could make anything, he could fix anything."

Foster said her mother Melba, who suffers from dementia, was in a pass code-protected Alzheimer's wing and was unharmed during the shooting. She had joined her husband at Pinelake only a few weeks ago.