Obituary

Elva was born on February 6, 1954, in Farmville, Virginia, the third child of Arline Lewis Howell and Moss Hoover Howell. She spent most of her formative years in Farmville, Virginia, where she helped on the family tobacco farm and attended school and was the first sibling to graduate from high school. She valued and did not take for granted her education. She so strongly believed in education that she worked as a teacher’s assistant in the Chesterfield County Public School System. The schools she worked at were Jacobs Elementary, Weaver Elementary and, until her illness rendered her unable to continue, Elizabeth Scott Elementary. She loved working with the children, and that is an understatement. Those who knew Elva knew that she had no limit to her love and caring of others. She always had a smile on her face and a shoulder to lean on. She would always pick up a little something special for everyone in her path and gave genuinely from her heart. At the school, she could identify a child that needed a hug and made sure she delivered it. With her colleagues, she always made time to help them, even at her busiest moments. With family, she loved on everyone and was always trying to find a way to make our lives easier and happier. She was a silent unassuming rock in all of our lives. Of the things that mattered most to Elva was her family. Elva met her husband, Joe, in 1986 in Richmond, Virginia, and they married in 1990. They both loved nature, and they traveled together. They balanced each other well. Elva got to see more of the world with Joe given that she came from very humble beginnings from a small farming town, but Elva had the curiosity of a child ready to explore the world. Elva was fearless. Elva did not have children, but when she married Joe, she became a loving stepmother to Dr. Shandon Thompson, then a wonderful mother-in-law to Sadie Thompson, and then a super-grandmother to the two girls who made her eyes light up, Lauren and Lindsey Thompson. Elva is survived by her husband, Joseph Arnold Thompson; her stepson, Shandon Thompson and his wife, Sadie, and her two granddaughters, Lauren and Lindsey Thompson; also her siblings, Jack Howell, Geraldine Howell Aho, William Dove Howell, and her half-brother, Robert Pete Howell. She is also survived by her favorite sister-in-law, Peggy Howell; 5 nieces, 4 nephews, 7 great-nephews, and 2 great-nieces. A visitation will be held at Morrissett Funeral Home, 6500 Iron Bridge Road, Richmond, Virginia, on June 17, 2011, between 4:00 pm and 6:00 p.m. The memorial service will be the following day, Saturday, June 18, 2011, at the Church of Christ, 1250 South Franklin Street, Christiansburg, Virginia, at 1:00 p.m., followed by the interment at Sunset Cemetery, 401 South Franklin Street, Christiansburg, Virginia. After the interment, anyone who wishes to join the family for fellowship can return to the Church of Christ. The family asks that a contribution be made to the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in lieu of flowers.