Anna B. Lineberger

Anna Boyce
Rankin Lineberger
Charlotte
Anna Boyce Rankin Lineberger, age 97, of Charlotte, died peacefully at Southminster Retirement Community on February 10, 2011.
Mrs. Lineberger was born on January 18, 1914 in Gastonia, the daughter of the late Rufus Grady Rankin and Ruth Boyce Rankin. She was predeceased by two brothers, R. Grady Rankin, Jr. and George Mason Rankin. Her family moved to Charlotte during her teen years and she graduated from Chatham Hall School in Chatham, VA and attended Hollins College. Anna Boyce spent summers in Blowing Rock, NC, her favorite place on earth. She was an accomplished athlete from an early age, excelling in team sports and golf but particularly in equestrian competition. In 1936, she obtained her pilot's license and, while standing on the wing of her airplane wearing trousers and a blowing scarf, was noticed by her future husband, Joseph William Lineberger. He told a friend "that's the lady I'm going to marry" and he did! They were happily married for sixty eight years. Mr. Lineberger died in 2006.
During her long, healthy life, Anna Boyce was dedicated to her family and friends and participated in many activities, always including her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was an avid gardener, reader and world traveler. Even as her health waned, her love of her eight "little ones" never wavered. She was devoted to her church and involved in numerous community organizations. She was a long standing member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center's Board of Visitors and was a member of Charlotte Country Club and Blowing Rock Country Club.
She is survived by two daughters, Boyce Lineberger Ansley of Atlanta, GA and Anna Lineberger Stanley of Charlotte; sons-in-law, Shepard Bryan Ansley and Verner E. Stanley, Jr.; six grandchildren, Anna Ansley Davis (Arch) and Florence Bryan Ansley of Atlanta, Verner E. Stanley III (Ann) of Charlotte, Joseph W.L. Stanley (Lynn) of Greensboro and Michael Christopher Stanley (Katherine) of Chapel Hill; and eight great-grandchildren, Anna Boyce and Hilliard Davis, Thomas and Mason Stanley, Margaret and Joseph Stanley and Charles and Liza Stanley. She is also survived by her brother, David Holland Rankin, her cousin Dr. R. Pinkney Rankin; and numerous nieces and nephews.
The family is deeply grateful to her loving caregivers Sandra Hayes and Loria Perry and to the staff of Magnolia Place at Southminster for their outstanding care of Mrs. Lineberger.
A memorial service to celebrate her life will be held at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, February 12, 2011 at the Lutheran Church of the Holy Comforter, 216 Main St., Belmont, NC. with Rev. Dr. K. Michael Varn officiating. The family will receive friends on Friday, February 11, 2011 from 5:00–7:00 p.m. at the Stanley residence, 4108 Pomfret Ln., Charlotte. Burial will be private prior to the memorial service.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Medicine, CB#7295 UNC Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7295, Southminster Foundation, 8919 Park Rd. Charlotte, NC 28210 or Holy Comforter Lutheran Church, 216 N. Main St., Belmont, NC 28012.
Online condolences for the family may be made to www.harryandbryantfuneralhome.com