McCann, Elizabeth Roberts

Elizabeth Roberts McCann, 95, died peacefully at home on February 2, 2013. She was born in Norton, Virginia, the daughter of John Roberts and Gladys Martin Roberts. Her grandmother was a Presbyterian missionary to the western part of the state, and as a little girl Libby enjoyed singing hymns and making up sermons. With her brother and three sisters, she grew up happily in Norton. In 1938, she graduated from Farmville State Teachers’ College (now Longwood University) and became a teacher. Her first job was at a high school in Eastern Virginia, where she taught mathematics and a little of everything else, and also coached the girls’ basketball team. It was here too that she met James Henry McCann, another teacher. Libby and Mac were married in 1940, and shortly thereafter Mac, a V.P.I. graduate, was called up for active duty in the Army. During the war years, Libby lived with her parents in Norton and worked for the local draft board. Afterward, as an Army wife, she lived at a number of army posts including Blacksburg, where Mac was a VPI Professor of Military Science, and then in Norton when he was sent to Japan during the Korean War. In 1953, she and her two young daughters traveled by train from Norton to Seattle and boarded a ship to Japan. The family lived there for two years, and then in Richmond, Taiwan, Richmond again, and finally Blacksburg, where Col. McCann, having retired from the Army, became Assistant Commandant of the Corps of Cadets. Libby spent the last 50 years of her life in Blacksburg. During this time she earned a Master’s Degree in Education from Radford University and worked for a number of years as a Special Education teacher at Margaret Beeks Elementary School. She was also a faithful and active member of Blacksburg Presbyterian Church, serving as an elder and a member of the choir, the Prayer Group, and numerous committees. In addition to these activities she was a Girl Scout leader for several years, a loyal Hokie fan, and a participant in book clubs and the philanthropic organization P.E.O. She was proud of the huge old oak in her front yard, and even prouder when it was chosen for inclusion in the book “Remarkable Trees of Virginia.” Elizabeth is survived by her daughter Susan McCann Butler and husband Scott Butler, her daughter Elizabeth Harrison McCann and husband Christopher Linsmayer, her grandchildren Anne Elizabeth Butler, Christopher Harrison Linsmayer, and Kaitlyn Elizabeth Linsmayer, and many nieces and nephews, as well as relatives by marriage, including Col McCann’s sister Evelyn McCann Poole. She was preceded in death, among many caring family members on both sides of her family, by her husband of sixty-three years, Col. James Henry McCann, her brother John Roberts, Jr. and sisters, Mary Roberts Agay, Annette Roberts Tyler, and Martha Roberts Edwards, her niece Josephine Roberts Gaines, her nephew John Edwards, and her favorite cousin Samuel Dobyns. Her family would also like to acknowledge and thank Dr. William Hendricks and Libby’s wonderful caregivers, Cheryl Stinson, Gloria McNeill, and especially Mary Bentley, whose loving concern and faithful care for many years enabled Libby to “stay in her own home.” She was blessed to have had such help, and we are grateful. A service celebrating Libby’s life will be held at the Blacksburg Presbyterian Church, 701 Church Street, SE, Blacksburg at 3 PM on Saturday, Feb. 9. In lieu of flowers, please send memorial contributions to the music fund at Blacksburg Presbyterian Church or to your favorite charity. Arrangements: McCoy Funeral Home, 150 Country Club Dr., SW, Blacksburg, Va. 24060; (540) 552-3211