Vivienne A. (Boersema) Copeland
Published 12:00 am Sunday, September 10, 2006
10/13/15 – 9/6/06
Vivienne A. Copeland, passed away Wednesday, September 6, 2006 in Plano, Texas. Prior to a brief stay in a nursing home she resided with her daughter, Marcia Ann and son-in-law William D. Jowers in Wylie, Texas.
Vivienne was born October 13, 1915 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She graduated from Kalamazoo Central High School. During WWII she was active with the USO at Fort Custer, MI and she worked for The Upjohn Company, a major maker of pharmaceuticals, in the infusion solution department where she tested bottles for the U.S. Navy.
It was at The Upjohn Company where she met and married the love of her life, the late Clair D. Copeland.
She was very active in the American Cancer Society and in the early 1950s served by appointment as chairman of the Cancer Crusade house-to-house campaign for the entire Kalamazoo County.
Later in life she was a dental assistant for James Tindall,
D.D.S. in Millwood until she retired and moved to Greeneville, Tennessee to be near her daughter and granddaughter. During her time in Greeneville she attended Covenant Presbyterian Church in Tusculum and Christ United Methodist Church. She was a faithful volunteer for many years in the gift shop of Laughlin Memorial Hospital until she moved to Selma, Alabama, to follow family.
Six years ago she moved again, this time to Wylie, Texas, with her family. She was a senior citizen volunteer in the Blueprint Department for the City of Plano for two years and in 2004 she began helping with the administrative duties of the family-owned business, the Murphy Messenger newspaper.
She was a supporting member of In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue and Educational Center in Wylie, TX, and The American Diabetes Association. She attended Faith Lutheran Church in Wylie and First United Methodist Church Plano where she was a member of the Porter Sunday School class.
Until her unfortunate fall in March of this year and her subsequent hospitalization and nursing home placement, she was an avid reader, lover of birds and flowers and enjoyed doing jigsaw puzzles.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Clair D. Copeland; brother, John Boersema;
sister, Jeanne Westphal and niece, Sharon Westphal Hand. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Marcia Ann and William D. Jowers, Wylie, TX; granddaughter, Holli Vivienne Banks, Richardson, TX; step-daughters, Janet Copeland Cavanaugh of Portage, MI. and Colleen Copeland of Kalamazoo, MI; step-sons, Richard Copeland of Portage, MI. and Robert Copeland of Kalamazoo, MI; nieces, Mary Westphal Patterson of Three Rivers, MI; Marianne Boersema Robinson of Biloxi, MS; nephews, Gordon Westphal of Niles, MI ; Larry Westphal of Parchmount, MI, and John Martin Boersema of Biloxi, MS., several great and great-great nieces and nephews and”Joe.”
In the interests of science, she had willed her body to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
A memorial service will be conducted at First United Methodist Church of Plano at 3160 E. Spring Creek Pkwy., Plano, TX on Thursday, September 21st at 3 p.m.. The family requests that expressions of sympathy be in the form of contributions to her favorite charities:
The American Association for Cancer Research: www.aacr.org
American Diabetes Association:
American Heart Association, www.americanheart.org
In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue & Educational Center, Wylie, TX.
972-442-6888 or
www.insyncexotics.com
Bobbie Crear
Bobbie Crear, 55, of Selma passed away on September 8, 2006 at a local nursing facility. Final arrangements will be announced at a later date by J.H. Williams & Sons Funeral Home.
Infant Angel O’Nae West Jones
Infant Angel O’Nae West Jones of Selma died on September 7, 2006 at Vaughan Regional Medical Center. Graveside services will be held on Sunday, September 10, 2006 at 2:00 p.m. at Fairlawn Cemetery with J.H. Williams & Sons Funeral directing.
Survivors include: parents, Dominik and Richard Jones, Sr.; brother, Richard Jones, Jr.; grandparents, Ms. Bonnie West Simmons of Selma, Ms. Lillie Jones of Selma, Mr. Dondi (Alberta) Fikes of Selma, and Mr. Mark Simmons of Selma; great grandparents, Ms. Alice West of Selma and Mr. Freddie (Charlotte) Jones of Selma; uncle, Lt. Dondi S. West of Maryland, Mr. Maurice Jones of Selma, and Mr. Kenneth Ingram of Selma; aunts, Lakeisha Jones of Selma and Tequila Soles of Atlanta; and a host of great aunts and uncles, cousins and other relatives.
Ms. Irene Reuben
Ms. Irene Reuben, age 48, of Dallas County died on September 4, 2006 at Baptist South Medical Center.
Funeral services are scheduled for Monday, September 11, 2006 at 1:00 p.m. at Miller Funeral Service Chapel with Rev. Samuel McDole officiating. Burial will follow in Fairlawn Memory Gardens with Miller Funeral Service directing.
Survivors include: one son, Rodney Reuben; two brothers, Claiborn Reuben and Franklin Reuben; two uncles, Jordan (Ola) Reuben and Frank Reuben; two aunts, Katie Reuben and Ola Reuben; and on special cousin, Nellie H. Simpson.
Elna Garrison Thompson
Elna Garrison Thompson, age 100, of Selma, AL died on September 7, 2006 at Park Place Nursing Home. Funeral services are scheduled for Sunday, September
10, 2006 at 3:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church with Rev. Lee Tate and Rev. Jack Lovelace officiating. Burial will follow in New Live Oak Cemetery with Miller Funeral Service directing.
Survivors include: one son, Gary Thompson (Joy) of Selma, AL; one daughter, Virginia T. Alexander (William T.) of Purcellville, Virginia; five grandchildren; nine great grandchildren; one great great grandchild.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Joe Thompson; two sons, Joseph Curtis Thompson and Milton Barry Thompson (Joyce D.); two brothers, Will and Leroy Garrison; and four sisters, Betty G. Melton, Maude G. Lee, Eula G. Smyly and Gladys G. Barnes.
Pallbearers will be Glenn Sexton, Eddie Morrow, Douglas Smyly, Stewart Speed, Harry Woodward III, and Jonathan Woodward.
Mildred Irene ‘MiMi’ Rowell
Mildred Irene “MiMi” Rowell, 56, of Franklin, Ala., died Sept. 8, 2006, at Springhill Memorial Hospital in Mobile.
A service will be held at 11 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2006, at the Monroe Chapel Funeral Home. Interment will be at the Bryant Cemetery in Finchburg, Ala. The Rev. Paul Lambert will officiate.
Mrs. Rowell, a life-long resident of Monroe County, resided in Franklin.
She worked as a bus driver and clerk at the bus shop for the Monroe County Board of Education for 25 years.
She also owned and operated a home interior business for 27 years and this was her heart as she helped many ladies earn their living through home design.
She was a member of Fountain Baptist Church.
Survivors include her husband, Ray Rowell of Franklin; son, Tim Rowell of Monroeville; daughter Tammie Rowell and husband Tim of Franklin; mother and father, William F. “Junior” Turberville and Helen Frances Turberville of Franklin; brother, Thomas Strickland of Franklin; sisters, Nancy Collins
and Judy Ann McKenzie, both of Franklin; two grandchildren, Christopher Rowell of Franklin and Bret Rowell of Foley; and a godson, Dusty McKenzie of Franklin.
Visitation for Mrs. Rowell will be held Monday from 10 to 11 a.m. at the funeral home.
Memorials may be made to the Monroe Health Foundation, Cancer Treatment Center, P.O. Box 886, Monroeville, AL 36461.