Cleon Hightower

Cleon Hightower PORTSMOUTH - Cleon Taylor Hightower, 94, formerly of Amherst Drive, went to be with our Lord Saturday, June 27, 2009, in Maryview Nursing Center, Suffolk. She was born Jan. 22, 1915, in Warsaw, N.C., to the late Perry and Mary Lou Rivenbark, and retired after 31 years with Portsmouth Public Schools as the school dietician at Hodges Manor Elementary. Cleon was preceded in death by her first husband, Johnnie A. Taylor and Wallace Hightower, her second husband and four younger brothers. Those left to cherish her memory are her daughter, Melva Jean Brantley and husband Carroll of Chesapeake; a brother, Edward Rivenbark of Newbern, N.C.; three grandchildren, Karen Scott and husband Christopher, Kevin Brantley, and Kelly Brewster and husband James; and four great-grandchildren, Lauren, Jacob, Justin and Jason; and two sisters. She was a charter member of Alexander Baptist Church and enjoyed singing in the choir. Many who knew her adopted her as their "Nana." A funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 30, in Sturtevant Funeral Home, Portsmouth Blvd. Chapel, by the Rev. Archie "Chip" Corbin. Burial will follow in Greenlawn Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends at the funeral home Monday from 7 to 8 p.m. The family wishes to thank her doctors and the staff of Maryview Nursing Care Center for their care and devotion. www.SturtevantFuneralHome.com.