Beck, Laura Etta Milton

Laura Etta Milton Beck, 102, of 111 Johnson Avenue, Pembroke, died Monday, May 14, 2012, at Giles Community Hospital in Pearisburg. She was the last member of her immediate family, being a daughter of the late John Albert and Nannie Rose Slash Milton. She was a retired domestic, having worked for many prominent families in Giles County. She was married to the late Ernest L. Beck on April 28, 1928, and to this union was born ten children. She was a lifetime member of The First Baptist Church at Pembroke, was an avid gardener, and loved to can and quilt. She loved to bless her community and friends with the fruits of her labors. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 55 years, Ernest L. Beck, her brothers Robert and Cordoza Milton, her sisters, Fannie Mae Dean and Mary Sue Paige, her children, Kathleen Cook, Richard L. Beck, and Ernest L. Beck Jr, and also six sons-in-law. Her surviving family members are her children, Violet Flewellen of Columbus, Ohio, Louise Dorsey (John), of Mount Airy, Md., Evelyn Bailey, of Cleveland, Ohio, Georgia E. Jones, of Columbus, Ohio, Thelma B. Hairston, of Princeton, W.Va., Sallie A. Carey, of Pembroke, and Sarah L. Kisner, of Cleveland, Ohio; her daughter-in-law, Regina Beck Patterson, of Rancho Cordova, Calif.; a sister-in-law, Rena Wilson, of Roanoke; her 33 grandchildren; her 44 great-grandchildren; her 13 great-great-grandchildren; her adopted daughter and special caregiver, Madeline King; her special adopted son, Jimmy Chapman; her special cousin, Deacon James E. Chapman; her special friend and neighbor, Kathy Williams and Vellen King. She also leaves to celebrate her life a host of nieces and nephews and other relatives and friends. Funeral services will be conducted 1 p.m. Saturday, May 19, 2012, in the First Baptist Church on Chapman Avenue in Pembroke, with her pastor, The Rev. James Cooper, officiating. Burial will follow in Birchlawn Burial Park in Pearisburg. The family will receive friends at the church one hour before the services. Grandsons will serve as pallbearers. The Kendall Funeral Home in Pembroke is in charge of arrangements. Onlline condolences may be sent by visiting kendallfuneralhome.com.