Blanche Gentry Obituary

WISE – Blanche Gentry, 92, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Friday, Dec. 22, 2006, at the Lodge Care Center in Loveland, Ohio, where she had been a resident since April of 2003. She was a lifelong member of the Stevens Chapel, Stevens, Va., and was leader in her church for many years. She also served as Chaplain of the Wise Senior Citizens and the Fort Nightly Club.
Ada Blanche was born April 29, 1914, in Wise, the eighth of nine children. She was preceded in death by eight siblings, Carrie Sturgill, Vesta Dotson, Francis Hash, Hattie Gardner, Verda Boggs, Decker Rogers, William Rogers and Arch Rogers.
In 1932, she married Raymond Taylor and they had three children, Charlene Rodgers of Mason, Ohio, Rev. Tommy Taylor of Virginia Beach, Va., and Frank Taylor of Dungannon, Va. After Raymond's death in 1962, she married Ewell Gentry, who died in 1988. She has four grandchildren, Robin Johnson of Mason, Josh Taylor, Mary Beth Kelly and Melanie Sturgill, all of Virginia Beach; and six great-grandchildren, Trey, Taylor, Sara and Lillie Beth, all of Virginia Beach, and Ryan and Katie of Mason. Blanche is also survived by several dear nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be conducted 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2006, in the Sturgill Funeral Home Chapel, 1621 Norton Road, S.W., Wise, Va. The family will receive friends Tuesday 5 to 7 p.m. at the Sturgill Funeral Home, Wise. Graveside services will be conducted 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2006, in the Powell Valley Memorial Gardens, Big Stone Gap, Va. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 6931 Arlington Road, Bethesda, MD 20814. Sturgill Funeral Homes, 1621 Norton Road, S.W., Wise, VA, in charge of arrangements.