Nell Johnson Lanier

NEWPORT NEWS - Mrs. Nell Johnson Lanier, 98, died Sunday, July 30, 2006, at her residence. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 2, at Hidenwood Presbyterian Church with a reception following the service. The family will be at the home of Robert and Vicki Lanier. Mrs. Lanier was born on March 24, 1908, to Robert Timothy and Ottie Mae Johnson in Harnett County, N.C. She was graduated from North Carolina College for Women in Greensboro in 1928 and attended graduate school at Johns Hopkins University. She was a devoted wife, mother and homemaker for her family. She was an avid sports fan and enjoyed playing golf after her children left home. She was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas Leon Lanier; her son, Thomas Leon Lanier Jr., MD; her sister, Lucille McDuffee; her brothers, Eliot Wesley Johnson, MD, Robert Glenn Johnson, Ralph Leon Johnson, Woodrow Wilson Johnson and Robert Sexton Johnson. She is survived by her brother, James Leslie Johnson; her daughter, Nancy Lanier Player and her husband, Carroll; her son, Robert Fulton Lanier and his wife, Vicki; grandchildren, Keith Charles Player, MD, and his wife, Devin, Nell Player DeVore and her husband, Brett, Laura Winn Lanier, MD, and her husband, Lyle McClung, MD, Robert Harrington Lanier; and great-grandchildren, Ruth and Helen Player, William and Emily McClung and Hayden and Parker DeVore; and many nieces and nephews. Memorials may be made to Meals on Wheels, 739 Thimble Shoals Blvd., Newport News, VA 23606, local museums, or the charity of your choice. Peninsula Funeral Home is assisting the family.