Sarah Evelyn Warren Norfleet Irvin

IRVIN, Sarah Evelyn Warren Norfleet, 98, of Chesterfield, Virginia, went to be with the Lord peacefully surrounded by her family on Wednesday, August 19, 2009. She was born in Jackson, Tennessee on March 19, 1911 to the late Henry W. and Mary Alice Warren. She was widow of John Broox Norfleet Sr. and Thomas Duke Irvin. She was also the loving mother of John Broox Norfleet Jr., Sarah Grace Gower, Robert Jay Norfleet, and Betty Chaplin. Evelyn was the firstborn of 10 children and is survived by two sisters, Marie Deshazo of Como, Mississippi and Elizabeth Lynn Crawford of Williston, Tennessee; and one brother, Phil Warren of Memphis, Tennessee. Also surviving are her children, Betty (Fred) Chaplin of Chesterfield and Robert (Joyce) Norfleet of Chester; 11 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren, nine great-great-grandchildren and a loving second family in Germantown, Tennessee. She was preceded in death by her late husbands; her son, John B. Norfleet Jr.; and a daughter, Grace Gower. Evelyn was the retired co-owner of Hearse and Ambulance Sales, Inc., Norfleet American and Cycleland. She was a devout Christian, and her love of the Bible were the stepping stones of her life. In her later years, she became devoted to gardening and a love of flowers. During her life's journey, years were spent in Tyro, Mississippi, Memphis, Tennessee, Chester, Virginia, Germantown, Tennessee, and ending in Chesterfield, Virginia. A funeral service will be held 1:30 p.m. Saturday, August 22, 2009, in the Colonial Heights Chapel of the E. Alvin Small Funeral Homes & Crematory, 2033 Boulevard. Interment to follow at Sunset Memorial Park, Chester. The family will receive friends from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Friday (tonight) at the funeral home. Memorials may be sent to Odyssey (Hospice), 8000 Franklin Farms Drive, Suite 100, Richmond, Virginia 23229. Condolences may be registered at www.ealvinsmall.com.


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.