Jeanette Soper

Jeanette Cecil Soper VIRGINIA BEACH - Jeanette Cecil Soper passed this life into eternal life on Saturday morning, Oct. 30, 2010. At the time of her death, she was residing at Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay retirement community where she had been living for the last 20 years. She had formerly been a resident of Suffolk since the early 1960s. Mrs. Soper was born in Oklahoma Aug. 2, 1907, and was 103 years old at time of death. Mrs. Soper predeceased by her husband, retired U.S. Army Col. Dr. Leroy Dilmore Soper, who died Memorial Day, May 30, 1983. She was also predeceased by a brother, Robert Cecil, and numerous other relatives. She is survived by two sons, the Rev. Robert Soper (Julia) of Edinburg, Texas, and the Rev. Leroy Soper (Gene) of Colorado Springs, Colo. She is also survived by three grandchildren, Anna-Marie Soper O'Rourke (Tom) of Atlanta and twins, Lauren and Valerie Soper of Edinburg, Texas. Mrs. Soper was a registered nurse having graduated from a hospital nursing program in the late 1920s in Fort Smith, Ark., and became an Army nurse before marrying her husband in the early 1930s. She and her husband were a lifelong pair for more than 50 years and were deeply in love. Mrs. Soper and her husband were members of the Episcopal Church and she served in many capacities in the church including Altar Guild and Episcopal Church Women. She was also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star. She had a lifelong love of gardening and flower arranging. As an Army wife of a hospital commander she traveled a great deal in the U.S. as well as overseas. After her husband's Army retirement they settled in the Halifax and South Boston area of Virginia before moving to Suffolk. A memorial service for Mrs. Soper will be held in the chapel of Westminster-Canterbury, 3100 Shore Drive, Virginia Beach, at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 4. A reception/lunch will follow. Interment will follow the luncheon in Suffolk at the Holly Lawn Cemetery. Arrangements have been through Altmeyer Funeral Home in Virginia Beach. The family wishes to express our gratitude to the nurses and staff of Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay for their marvelous care and concern for Mrs. Soper over the last 20 years. Her experience there was truly wonderful.