Memorial services for Annie Lue "Ann" Vernon Van Devender will be held Sunday, June 26, at 3:00 p.m. at Porter Funeral Home with Reverend Ray Luke, Reverend Chris Gully, and Reverend Gerald Butler officiating. Visitation will be Sunday from 2:00 P.M. until service time. Interment will be in Vernon Baptist Church Cemetery in Kemper County under the direction of Porter Funeral Home of Louisville.
Mrs. Van Devender, 82, died Thursday June 23, 2016, at Rush Foundation Hospital in Meridian. She was born August 1, 1933 in Noxubee County. She was the second of eight children born to Webster and Mabel Vernon of Gholson. She accepted Christ as her Savior while a youth and was a lifelong member of Vernon Baptist Church. After graduating from Shuqualak High School, she continued her education at East Mississippi Junior College. She worked at a local grocery store, but it was at the Gholson Post Office that she met her husband of 52 years. As their young family grew, Mrs. Van Devender gained employment with Neco Manufacturing in DeKalb where she worked for more than 18 years. She also worked at the Lynville Glove Factory for several more years before retiring. The hallmarks of Mrs. Van Devender’s life were her commitment to God, her unwavering devotion to her family, and her love for children. Her husband and children were the lifelong beneficiaries of a Proverbs 31 woman. Her love for the Lord was clearly evident in her selfless giving to her family and neighbors. She was the first to lend a helping hand and a kind word. She was a tireless worker with no inclination for complaining or harsh words. Underneath her gentle spirit was an infectious sense of humor that she possessed until her death. Her quiet wisdom and loving attitude influenced countless decisions and lives. She taught her children kindness, helpfulness, devotion, and unconditional love. Her children’s lives are forever blessed through the life she lived in front of them, and her life was a testimony to the Lord.
Mrs. Van Devender was preceded in death by her parents, Webster and Mabel Vernon, her husband Jake Reginald Van Devender, her eldest daughter Regina V. McBeth, great-granddaughter Isabella Van Devender, and brother Raymond Vernon.
Survivors include her remaining children Thomas (Kim) Van Devender of Mary Dell, Barry (Amy) Van Devender of Preston, Lisa Hines of Preston, and Mary Nell (Paul) Woolery of Preston; grandchildren Samantha (Corey) Melton, Caleb (Candace) Van Devender, Baker (Kyle) Cooper, Alana McBeth, Jacob Van Devender, Cory (Adrian) Burton, Katlyn Van Devender, and Anna-Grace Woolery; great-grandchildren Daisy Melton, Ridge Cooper, Clover Melton, Zoey Cooper, Dahlia Melton, Kayden Burton, Mallie Cooper, Maloree Van Devender, and Sophia Burton; sisters Hilda Luke, Joyce Lindley, Frances Bourgeois; brothers Ira Vernon, JW Vernon, and David Vernon, and a large host of nieces and nephews.
Memorials may be made to the Vernon Baptist Cemetery Fund. To sign the guestbook, please go to www.porterfuneralhome.net.
