Verna May Stout

Verna May Stout November 7, 1908 - March 12, 2008 Verna May Stout, 99, died Wednesday, March 12, 2008, at the Atrium at the Village at Penn State, in College Township, surrounded by loving members of her family and the caring staff at the Atrium. Born on November 7, 1908, in Chatsworth, New Jersey, she was a resident of Red Bank, New Jersey for eighty years. She was the daughter of James S. Porter and Gertrude F. Kennedy Porter. On June 10, 1930 she married Leon E. Stout, who preceded her in death on April 23, 1997. They celebrated 67 years of joyful marriage together before he died. She was also predeceased by her brother Norman, Red Bank, N.J., and her sister Sarah Fritsche, St. Petersburg, Fla. Verna was a loving daughter, wife, mother, and grandmother; she enjoyed traveling and visiting with family members. She had a special place in her heart for babies and in particular for her grandchildren, great- and great-great-grandchildren. Because of her love of children, she babysat for many families over the years. She was a homemaker and a member of the First Methodist Church, of Red Bank, New Jersey. She attended Red Bank High School and worked for several years before and after her marriage as a Bell Telephone operator. She was on duty the night the airship Hindenburg crashed at Lakehurst Naval Air Station, N.J. in 1937, and helped route emergency calls in the aftermath. She is survived by a daughter Joyce O'Keefe and her husband, Fred Armstrong, Neptune, New Jersey; and a son, Leon J. Stout, and his wife Dee of State College; six grandchildren, Pamela O'Keefe of Monroe, La., Sharon O'Keefe of Eatontown, N.J., Lisa Walker of Ephrata, Kathy Mulcahy of Manchester, Ct., David Stout of Centreville, Va., and Christine Smith of Ithaca, N.Y.; twelve great-grandchildren, Brian Yost, Jeremy Diamond, Melissa Ary, Heather Goddard, Eric Wilson, Christopher Wilson, Joshua Wilson, Victoria Ennis, Kevin Mulcahy, Braden Mulcahy, Evan Stout, and Conell Stout and six great-great-grandchildren, Weston Diamond, Ava Diamond, Ayden Yost, Dylan Ary, Kallie Wilson, and Kiera Wilson. A memorial service will be held at the Thompson Memorial Home, Red Bank, N.J., and burial will follow at Evergreen Cemetery, Embury Methodist Church, Little Silver, N.J. Memorial contributions may be made to Alzheimer's Association Greater New Jersey Chapter, 400 Morris Avenue Suite 251, Denville, NJ, 07834.