Eva P. Sleeper

VERSHIRE - Eva P. Sleeper, 95, passed peacefully from this life on Monday, April 30, 2012, at the Menig Extended Care Facility in Randolph.

Eva was born in Vershire on Jan. 3, 1917, to Nettie (Bixby) and Truman Parshley, the oldest of six siblings. She was wed to Earl Joseph Sleeper on June 19, 1936, and they lived all their married lives in Vershire where they raised two children, Maurice and Shirley.

Eva was the happiest when she was active and was never one to be still for long. She filled her days helping Earl on their farms, first in Vershire Center and later in Vershire village, in the hay field under her wide-brimmed hat or in the barn feeding the calves (her "babies"), or the milk house. She was very involved in her church, where she played piano for the worship services and taught Sunday school for many years. She shared her love of the piano with others over the years, teaching many students to play. It was second nature for Eva to help her neighbors and friends, often cooking for someone who was recovering from an illness, sometimes walking several miles to visit them or care for them, as she didn't drive. She enjoyed gardening of both vegetables and flowers and was a wonderful cook. But Eva's greatest joy was her family. She loved to be surrounded by them during holidays or summer picnics or her annual sugar-on-snow parties (sometimes held in July so that all her grandchildren could be there) and any other time she could gather them all together. She was like the johnny jump-ups that grace our lawns each spring unasked; Eva quietly gave light and joy to others all her life. She was a giving and loving soul that will be sorely missed by all whose lives she has touched, and there were many.

Eva was predeceased by her loving husband, Earl; her sister Doris Whitcomb; and her brother, Harold Parshley. Surviving her are her son, Maurice Sleeper, and his wife, Juanita, of Barre; and her daughter, Shirley Parker, and her husband, Howard, of Vershire; as well as her sisters Katherine Burgess, of Bradford, Viola Ward, of Thetford, and Sadie Kennedy and her husband, Ernest, of Chelsea. Eva is also survived by four grandchildren and their spouses and eight great-grandchildren.

Calling hours will be held Thursday, May 3, 2012, at 6 to 8 p.m. at the Boardway & Cilley Funeral Home, 300 Vermont Route 110, Chelsea. A celebration of Eva's life will take place Friday, May 4, 2012, at 2:30 p.m. at the Corinth Bible Church in Corinth, with pastor Ken Barrows officiating. The interment will take place following the service at the Vershire Village Cemetery in Vershire. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Eva to Vershire Fire & Rescue Inc., P.O. Box 115, Vershire, VT 05079.