Person Page - 617

     Anne Eliza "Annie" Beckner was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.² Her Social Security Number was 579-18-4250.⁸ She Annie Eliza Beckner Sullivan, age 90, of Winter Park FL, passed away Friday, November 26, 2010. She was predeceased by her husband of 50 years Cdr. John R. Sullivan Jr who passed away in 1992. She will be interred with him, at Arlington National Cemetery. She was also predeceased by her brothers Carl and Ernest Beckner, and a sister Virginia Beckner Redmon. She is survived by one brother and his wife, John and Mary Beckner, sons Dennis Sullivan, John R Sullivan III and his wife Karen, four grandchildren Eliza, John IV, Amy, and Christine. Along with many nieces and nephews. She was born in Roanoke, VA November 17, 1920, the forth of five children of Carl and Mamie Beckner. She was named after her two grandmothers, Annie Turner Beckner and Eliza Jane Hancock Sowder. Her family moved from Roanoke to Washington D.C. In 1936. Eliza graduated from Central High School Washington D.C. in 1938 and attended Strayer Business School. She married John R Sullivan Jr. in 1942 and lived in various cities on the east and west coasts. They settled in Bethesda Md. when Cdr Sullivan retired from the U.S. Navy in 1964. She went to live with her son Dennis in Winter Park FL in 2002. Eliza was a long time active member of the Bethesda United Methodist Church in Maryland.⁴ She was born on November 17, 1920 at Roanoke, Virginia.^2,8,3,4 As of circa 1942,her married name was Sullivan.⁴ She married Cmdr. John Raymond Sullivan Jr. circa 1942.⁴ Anne Eliza "Annie" Beckner died on November 26, 2010 at Winter Park, Orange Co., Florida, at age 90.^2,8,4

     Cmdr. John Raymond Sullivan Jr. was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.² His Social Security Number was 578-14-7304.⁵ He was born on April 12, 1919 at Albany, Albany Co., New York.^5,2,3,6 He married Anne Eliza "Annie" Beckner, daughter of Carl Donald Beckner and Mamie Virginia Sowder, circa 1942.⁴ Cmdr. John Raymond Sullivan Jr. died on April 14, 1992 at Bethesda, Montgomery Co., Maryland, at age 73.^1,2,6

     John Lamar Beckner was buried at South Florida National Cemetery, 6501 S. State Road 7, Lake Worth, Palm Beach Co., Florida.^10,6,3 He was born on November 8, 1922 at Roanoke, Virginia.^{10,6,11,1,3,4} He married Mary Elizabeth Maple on April 1, 1947 at Washington, D.C..^12,6,2,3 John Lamar Beckner died on April 3, 2013 at West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Co., Florida, at age 90.^10,11,6,3 He John L. Beckner, age 90, born in Roanoke VA, November 8, 1922, to Carl and Mamie Beckner, died April 3, 2013, in West Palm Beach, FL. He joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1941. He served in the US Navy from 1943-1946 serving aboard the USS Dixie and returned to the FBI headquarters in Washington where he worked for nearly 40 years. He married Mary Maple on April 7, 1947 and was a wonderful father to their six children: John, Michael who preceded him in death, David (Deborah), Donna Lavery (Randy), Greg (Jeri) and Kenneth (Diane). He has seven grandchildren, Karen, Anna, Michael, John, Isaac, Chandler, and Autumn, three great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers and sisters. Interment at South Florida National Cemetery. on April 5, 2013.⁶

     Mary Elizabeth Maple was buried at South Florida National Cemetery, 6501 S. State Road 7, Lake Worth, Palm Beach Co., Florida.^1,3,4 She was born on April 23, 1924 at Pennsylvania.^3,5,4 She married John Lamar Beckner, son of Carl Donald Beckner and Mamie Virginia Sowder, on April 1, 1947 at Washington, D.C..^1,6,2,4 As of April 1, 1947,her married name was Beckner.² Mary Elizabeth Maple died on September 4, 2013 at West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Co., Florida, at age 89.^1,3,4 She Mary Maple Beckner, age 89, of Royal Palm Beach, FL, passed away September 04, 2013 of pancreatic cancer. Married for 66 years to John L. Beckner on April 07, 1947. She was a Secular Franciscan, Member Daughters of the American Revolution Halpatikee Chapter, Valedictorian 1942 class of Catholic Central High School in Steubenville, OH. In her life she worked for the FBI, as a decorator and Washington Post. Mother to six: John, Michael, David (Deborah), Donna (Randy Lavery), Greg (Jeri) and Kenneth (Diane); seven grandchildren, Karen, Anna, Michael, John, Isaac, Chandler and Autumn; five great-grandchildren. Preceded in death by her husband, John L. Beckner and son, Michael Beckner. Interment will be at South Florida National Cemetery, Lake Worth, FL on September 7, 2013.¹

     His Social Security Number was 218-56-3343.⁴ Michael Bruce Beckner married Donna Ann Auldridge.⁵ Michael Bruce Beckner was born on January 14, 1950 at Hyattsville, Prince George's Co., Maryland.^4,1 He died on September 3, 1981 at age 31; Died in an automobile accident.⁵

     Anthony Thrash Sowder was buried at Giles W. Huff Cemetery (also known as Sowder-King Cemetery), Floyd Co., Virginia.² He was born on June 16, 1898 at Floyd Co., Virginia.^1,2 He died on January 20, 1899 at Floyd Co., Virginia.^1,2

     Her Social Security Number was 225-72-0725.¹⁰ Annie Lee Sowder was buried at Sunset Cemetery, 501 South Franklin Street, Christiansburg, Montgomery Co., Virginia.^10,1,2 She was born on September 29, 1884 at Floyd Co., Virginia.^11,10,1,8 She died on January 5, 1984 at Shawsville, Montgomery Co., Virginia, at age 99.^10,1 She Annie Lee Sowder, 99, died Thursday, January 5, 1984, in the Meadowbrook Nursing Home, Shawsville. She is survived by a nephew, the Rev. Eugene Sowder, Christiansburg; and a great-nephew, James E. Sowder, Blacksburg. Burial in Sunset Cemetery. on January 6, 1984.²

     Ralph Sowder was buried at Sunset Cemetery, 501 South Franklin Street, Christiansburg, Montgomery Co., Virginia.¹ He was born on August 17, 1888 at Walnut Cove, Stokes Co., North Carolina; His WWI Draft Registration card has a birth year of 1889.^7,1,6 He married Maud Jeanette East on November 30, 1910 at Patrick Co., Virginia.^8,6 Ralph Sowder died on March 8, 1930 at Montgomery Co., Virginia, at age 41.¹

     Maud Jeanette East was buried at Sunset Cemetery, 501 South Franklin Street, Christiansburg, Montgomery Co., Virginia.^1,2 Her Social Security Number was 225-72-0624.⁴ She was born on September 29, 1889 at Virginia.^1,5,4,2 She married Ralph Sowder, son of Jacob Rush "Jack" Sowder and Mary Laurice West, on November 30, 1910 at Patrick Co., Virginia.^2,3 As of November 30, 1910,her married name was Sowder.³ Maud Jeanette East died on December 22, 1983 at Shawsville, Montgomery Co., Virginia, at age 94.^1,2

     His Social Security Number was 223-24-1226.⁸ Rev. Eugene Sowder was buried at Sunset Cemetery, 501 South Franklin Street, Christiansburg, Montgomery Co., Virginia.¹ He was born on October 14, 1913 at Patrick Co., Virginia; His obituary has a birth date of Oct 12, 1913.^1,4,5,6 He married Annie Mae Lawson on December 21, 1940 at Christiansburg, Montgomery Co., Virginia.^4,9,10 Rev. Eugene Sowder married Helen Anna Marshall Ph.D. on July 25, 1987 at Christiansburg, Montgomery Co., Virginia.⁴ Rev. Eugene Sowder died on November 26, 2004 at Christiansburg, Montgomery Co., Virginia, at age 91.¹ He Rev. Eugene Sowder, 91, of Christiansburg, died Friday, November 26, 2004 at his residence on Roundhill Drive. He was born October 12, 1913 in Patrick County, Va. Rev. Sowder was an alumnus of Emory & Henry College, a college he deeply loved, and was ordained into the ministry of the Methodist church on October 12, 1952 in Norfolk, Va. He served churches in Virginia through his initial retirement and following retirement he continued serving as minister in Bent Mountain, Va. Over the past decade, Rev. Sowder spoke on many occasions and for many different circumstances in the Virginia Conference. Rev. Sowder has been attending St. Paul United Methodist Church here since retirement, serving occasionally as Minister of Visitation in the middle 1980s and serving in the "Joy Singers" senior citizens choir to Nursing homes. He was deeply interested in history, especially as it was integrated into the Christian life and faith. Always an avid student of the Bible and church history, he continued in mid-week Bible studies at St. Paul, occasionally serving as the leader. His hobbies included gardening and horticulture, where he devoted countless loving hours to two homes in Christiansburg, one with his beloved wife, Helen, and one in which he had previously lived before their marriage in 1987. His interests involved Board membership at Warm Hearth, president of AARP (where he taught driving to Senior Citizens) volunteering under his wife Helen's leadership in "The Social Club," an extension of the Mental Health Association. Rev. Sowder is survived by his wife, Helen; a son, Jim Sowder of his first marriage to Annie Mae, now deceased. Also surviving are grandsons Brett A. Sowder, Loyd E. Sowder, James Adam Sowder; and one granddaughter, Aimee B. E. Sowder; great-grandchildren, Jarrett Alan Sowder, Anthony James Willard, Jacob Mckinley Willard and Samantha Elaine Sowder. Burial will follow in Sunset Cemetery. He will be greatly missed by his family, friends, neighbors and church, but now rests securely in the Hands of God. on November 28, 2004.¹