Elizabeth Hanbury

Elizabeth B. Hanbury CHESAPEAKE - Elizabeth Baum Hanbury, 88, died Nov. 4, 2008. She was the widow of Lawrence Jefferson Hanbury Sr. and the daughter of Renan Carlyle and Emma Patterson Baum. She was a graduate of Florida Southern College and received her master's degree from The College of William and Mary. Mrs. Hanbury served the Chesapeake public schools, first as a teacher of English at Great Bridge High School, later as supervisor of English instruction, and the last 12 years of her career were spent as assistant principal for instruction at Indian River High School. Upon formation of the City of Chesapeake in 1963, she became the first president of the Chesapeake Education Association. In the late 1960s, she was president of District T of the Virginia Education Association. Upon her retirement in 1980, Mrs. Hanbury became interested in historical and genealogical research. She was the author of "Currituck Legacy: The Baum Family of North Carolina," which she described as a blend of northeastern North Carolina history and the history of the Outer Banks Baum family. She also wrote "Getting to Pine Island," a work of historical fiction based on the Baum family diaries. In 1998, she revised and guided the republication of Elizabeth Baum Wingo's 1965 edition of "The Battle of Great Bridge" for the Norfolk County Historical Society. Mrs. Hanbury was a past president of the historical society and was the first regent of the Chesapeake chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways History Foundation. At Centerville Baptist Church, she taught Sunday school and served as a deacon. She is survived by two daughters, Laura Hodges and Marianne Okal and sons-in-law, James Hodges and Charles Okal; one son, Lawrence Jefferson Hanbury Jr. and his wife Debbie; granddaughters, Elizabeth Robson, Susannah Hogge, Rebecca Dodelin and Emily DeFiesta; grandsons, Ben Shanaberger and Jakob Hanbury; and four great-grandchildren. The funeral will be conducted at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Centerville Baptist Church. The Rev. Richard T. Moore will officiate. The interment will follow in Chesapeake Memorial Gardens. Family and friends will gather at the home of Jeff and Debbie Hanbury, 228 Vanette Drive, after the graveside committal service. The family will receive friends from 7 to 9 p.m. today in the Great Bridge Chapel of Oman Funeral Home & Crematory, 653 Cedar Road, Chesapeake. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made as contributions to the Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways History Foundation, P.O. Box 15425, Chesapeake, VA 23328. Friends are also invited to send condolences and sign the online guestbook at www.omanfh.com.