VELMA MCNEELY

JACKSON, Mo. -- Velma Ione Ross McNeely, 85, of Jackson passed away Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2001, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau.

Friends may call at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson from 4-8 p.m. Saturday, and at New McKendree United Methodist Church after 1 p.m. Sunday.

Funeral service to celebrate her life will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at New McKendree Church. The Revs. Richard Northcutt and J.E. Corbin will officiate. Burial will be in Cape County Memorial Park in Cape Girardeau.

Velma was born Dec. 21, 1915, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Elza and Ethel Dodson Ross. She and Leroy McNeely were married Dec. 13, 1936, at New McKendree Church. Leroy preceded her in death March 13, 2000.

Prior to her retirement, Velma was a proofreader at the Southeast Missourian, and had worked on-line and in the office at International Shoe Co. in Jackson.

Velma was an active member of New McKendree Church, serving as Sunday School leader and on various church boards, and in many local and regional Methodist women's organizations. She was a past member of Cape Girardeau Camp of the Gideon International and Thursday Literary Club in Jackson.

She frequently served as a guest speaker and was known for her devotionals presented to numerous organizations.

Loving survivors include two daughters, Jane Boren and husband, Roy, of Jackson, Lawanna Eshbaugh of Greensburg, Pa.; six grandchildren and spouses, Rick Boren and wife, Mary, of Arnold, Mo., Sheri Twaddle and husband, Brad, of Maryville, Mo., Stephen Eshbaugh and wife, Anna, of Gaithersburg, Pa., Linda O'Bryan and husband, Bill, of Verona, Pa., Janet Waugaman and husband, Cliff, and Nancy Statler and husband, Scott, of Greensburg.

Also surviving are nine great-grandchildren, Lauren and Cliffy Waugaman, Daniel and David Statler, Faith, Grace and Nathan Eshbaugh, Stephen Eddington and Kathleen Twaddle; two sisters, Dorothy March and husband, Bryce, of Cape Girardeau, Thelma Skinner of Memphis, Tenn.; and a sister-in-law, Lela Ross of Branson, Mo.

She was preceded in death by a brother, Melvin Ross.

Expressions of sympathy in the form of donations may be given to the United Methodist Women at New McKendree, or the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau.