Elva Lavinder

Elva Beckham Lavinder Elva Beckham Lavinder, 78, of Martinsville, VA died January 28, 2013, after a long illness with Alzheimer's Disease. She was born on January 13, 1935 in Arlington, VA to the late Colonel Benjamin Moore Beckham, Jr. and Mary Dodson Bruce Beckham. She grew up in Bachelor's Hall, VA where she loved raising animals and being outdoors. She graduated from George Washington High School in Danville Virginia in 1953 and attended the College of William and Mary where she graduated with an English degree in 1957. After graduation she married her beloved husband George Ballard Lavinder, Jr in August 1959 and was married to him for 53 years living in Richmond, VA for 10 years, before living the last 43 years in Martinsville, VA. Elva's passion for reading led her to a long career at the Blue Ridge Regional Library in Martinsville from 1971 until her retirement in 1998. During that time, she served in many different roles including acquisition assistant (selection of fiction books), supervisor of the Bookmobile, and helped to organize and coordinate the circulation of books at each of the branch libraries. She attended First United Methodist Church of Martinsville with her family and was known for her friendliness and quick smile. She always looked at the positive in people and stated that her loves were reading (especially F. Scott Fitzgerald), walking, gardening and loving on any kind of animal, especially cats and dogs. She had a love for chocolate, nuts, coffee, changing color of leaves and the beauty of the first big snowfalls of winter. She also had a strong interest in the success of Ferrum College which her grandfather, Dr. Benjamin Beckham, founded. She is survived by her husband George and two sons, Brian Lavinder of Danville, VA and Steven Lavinder and his wife Amy, of Roswell, GA, a grandson James Steven Lavinder and a granddaughter Victoria Anne Lavinder both also of Roswell, GA. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to either of the following: Alzheimer's Association ,Central and Western Virginia Chapter, 1160 Pepsi Place, Suite 306, Charlottesville, VA 22901, www.alz.org/cwva/ or to Ferrum College, Office of Development - Beckham Endowment, P.O. Box 1000, Ferrum, VA 24088, www.ferrum.edu/ The family will receive friends at Townes Funeral Home, 215 West Main Street, Danville, VA from12:30 PM to 1:30 PM on Friday, February 1, 2013 followed by the funeral service at 2:00 PM at Townes Memorial Chapel with Ron Mateer officiating. Interment will follow in Mountain View Cemetery. Townes Funeral Home and Crematory is serving the Lavinder family.