Vera Imogene Mays

On Wednesday, June 5th, Vera Imogene Mays’ spirit was freed of her body to pass from this earthly life to the next. Her daughter, son and son-in-law were with her at the time.

Vera lived the majority of her life in southern Ohio, however, she was born on the Clinch mountain ridge in the Tennessee Appalachians on December 21, 1931, to her single mother, Leveda. She is survived by her daughter, Donna Richardson, son-in-law, John Richardson, son Joseph Harris, granddaughter Sarah Paden, 8 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, sisters-in-law June Geisler, Della Foster and Kay Miller as well as countless nieces and nephews.

Vera lived many of her 87-1/2 years putting the needs of others above her own. She worked in a drycleaner and sold Fuller Brush door-to-door to help put her first husband through college – though she herself was not to attend college. Later she volunteered at church, helped lead Girl Scouts and assisted in the local schools both in the cafeterias and in the classrooms.

In her later years, Vera volunteered at church until dementia made it impossible for her to continue. Dementia, in it’s many forms, insidiously strips away memories and replaces them with fear and uncertainty often leading to hostility and constant confusion. Because of this, in lieu of flowers the family encourages charitable donations in Vera’s name to organizations that seek to cure dementia, or any other charity of their choosing.

The family will be forever grateful and deeply indebted to Grace Hospice for their care and unwavering kind spirit.