Larson, Geraldine Dickerson

Geraldine Dickerson Larson, formerly of Floyd, passed away at Halquest Memorial In-Patient Unit, Arlington, Va., on January 10, 2012. She was the only daughter of the late Waitman Taylor Dickerson and Mary Leila Sumpter Dickerson and the last surviving grandchild of the late Harvey and Octavia Simmons Dickerson. The Dickerson and Sumpter families were early settlers of Floyd County in the 1700s. Mrs. Larson was born on August 6, 1920, at the Dickerson home place on Penn Road, Floyd, Va. She attended Floyd County Schools, graduating from Floyd High School in 1937. From Floyd, she went to Roanoke, Va., to attend National Business College from which she graduated in June 1939. Geraldine then moved to Washington, D.C. She began her career as a “government girl” working for several agencies before working and retiring from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. She was a long time member of Foundry Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. , and made her home in Arlington, Va. For many years, she kept the family home in Floyd, returning to see relatives and friends when she could. When it became too difficult to travel from Arlington to Floyd, she sold that property. Geraldine was an independent career woman, a cat lover of renown, and a woman of firm opinions. To describe her as feisty is to understate her pluck and determination. While Geraldine stayed in touch with relatives for most of her life, as she grew older and those near and dear passed away, she sometimes speculated on the merits of out living her peers. Geraldine is survived by several Sumpter and Dickerson second cousins, including Patricia and Colleen Kelly, of Southbury, Conn., and Dickerson cousin, Margaret A. Smith, of Floyd. Her close friends and neighbors in Arlington, Dennis and Jeannine Comella, cared for her and facilitated her ability to live independently. A Memorial Service will be conducted at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 21, 2012, at Wood Funeral Home in Floyd with the Rev. Richard Thomas officiating. Interment will be held in Jacksonville Cemetery in the Family Plot. Arrangements by Wood Funeral Home in Floyd, Va., 540-745-4100.