Flora Elizabeth Powers

Flora Elizabeth Powers, 101, of Bluefield, WV, passed away peacefully at her home on Wednesday, June 11, 2025.

Born in Bluefield in 1924, Flora was the only child of James Robert and Nanette Duncan Brown. From a young age, she took on responsibility with grace, helping her mother run a rooming house during the Great Depression. Even then, she embodied the spirit of service and quiet responsibility that defined her adult life.

She met the love of her life, Allen W. Powers, at her family's rooming house, and together they attended Beaver High School. They married in October 1942, shortly before Allen was deployed overseas with the U.S. Army during World War II. Flora graduated in 1943—one of only two married women in her class. In 1945, after his return, they raised five children together with love, discipline, and joy. Flora poured herself into her family and was best known for her famous homemade biscuits.

Flora and Allen’s life together was full of hard work, partnership, and shared purpose. They owned and operated Sunny South Market in Bluewell, a family business in every sense where their children learned the value of hard work and service. She took pride in seeing all her children graduate from college, and even more in the generations that followed—eleven grandchildren, fourteen great-grandchildren, and seven great-great-grandchildren (with one more on the way).

In retirement, they gardened, traveled, and soaked up time with their ever-growing family. Flora’s love for reading a good story first sparked in the Bluefield library, remained a constant throughout her life. Though once limited by what she could carry home, she delighted in today’s digital readers and the endless supply of books they provided. After Allen's passing in 2006, Flora remained the steady matriarch of the family, cherishing every moment with her growing legacy.

Her faith was lifelong and unwavering. She has been a member of the Methodist Church since birth, having been baptized at Bland Street United Methodist Church, where she remained a member for 80 years. For the past two decades, she found joy and fellowship at Bluewell United Methodist Church. Her faith was quiet but deep—woven into how she lived, loved, and treated others.

Flora was preceded in death by her husband, Allen W. Powers, and a grandson, Roger “Brad” Wilburn. She is survived by her son, Allen Powers Jr. (Elaine) of Bluewell, WV; daughters Elizabeth Wilburn (Scott Broyles) of Bluewell, WV; Elaine Cowan of Bluefield, WV; Donna Gibson (Charles) of Dublin, New Hampshire; and Anita Monk (Danny) of Gahanna, Ohio. She also leaves a legacy of love through her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, and extended family.

Flora lived through more than a century of profound change, but the core of her life never wavered: faith in God, love for her family, and a heart open to others. Whether through a warm plate of biscuits, a quiet prayer, or a book shared with a grandchild, she made the world a kinder place.

She will be deeply missed and forever remembered.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, June 14, 2025, at 1:00 PM at The Cravens-Shires Funeral Home Chapel, in Bluewell, WV, with Rev. Sheri Kernik officiating. Burial will follow at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Bluewell, WV, with family and friends serving as pallbearers. A visitation will be held prior to service, from 12:30-1:00 PM.

Cravens-Shires Funeral Home is serving the Powers family.