Lena Erma Conner Swift

SWIFT, Lena Erma Conner, 84, of Madison Heights, passed formerly of Petersburg away Wednesday, December 10, 2008, at Lynchburg General Hospital. She was preceded in death by her husband, Henry Charles Swift. Born December 4, 1924, in Martinsville, she was a daughter of the late Curtis Gerome Conner and Novella Lawrence Conner Adkins. She was a member of Grace Baptist Church, in Petersburg, Va., where she taught Sunday school for a number of years. She taught second grade before going to work for the Virginia Employment Commission in Richmond, she retired from there in 1995. She loved flea markets, thrift stores, and yard sales, having them as well as going to them. She was also preceded in death by a sister, Sadie Iris Conner; and four brothers, Elbert Conner, Clarence Conner, Cecil Adkins and Garry W. Adkins. Survivors include her daughter, Jacque Johnson and husband, Timothy of Madison Heights; a sister, Eleanor Baird and husband, Jerome, of Clinton, Tenn.; two brothers, Percy B. Adkins and wife, Shirley, of Carson, Va., Raymond A. Adkins and wife, Barbara, of Petersburg, Va.; five grandchildren, Naomi Gillespie and husband, Rick, J. Charles Zimny, April L. Burrows and Robert A. Johnson and wife, Rhonda, and Heather E. Payne and husband, Artie; 16 great-grandchildren; and five great-great-grandchildren; other relatives and friends. A funeral service will be conducted at 3 p.m. on Saturday, December 13, 2008 at Whitten Monelison Chapel by the Rev. Dale Neal. Interment will take place at 1 p.m., January 2, 2009 in Arlington National Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 2 to 3 p.m. prior to the service at the funeral home and after the service at the residence of Heather Payne. Memorial contributions may be made in lieu of flowers to Liberty University. To send a condolence to the family, please visit, www. whittenfuneralhome.com. Whitten Funeral Homes and Cremation Services, Monelison Chapel, is assisting the family.
This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.