Kathleen “Jeri” Boggs Etheridge, 96, of Salem, Virginia went to be with her Savior on Thursday, January 8, 2026.
She was born on June 9, 1929, in Pueblo, Colorado to the late Clarence Waverly and Kathleen Taylor Boggs. She was raised in Cumberland County, Virginia and has been a resident of Salem since 1952. She attended West Hampton at the University of Richmond and Mary Washington University. She was a faithful wife and devoted mother who deeply loved her husband and family. She was an active member of Salem Baptist Church where she led the Girls of Grace Sunday School class. She also taught Girls in Action (GAs) and Acteens Missions classes for many years. She was a member of the Roanoke Valley Christian Women’s Club and the Straw Hatter’s Bible Study that provided financial support to the Village Missions program. She had a wonderful spiritual heritage that included five generations of women who were devoted to Southern Baptist Church ministries throughout Virginia and beyond and was related to Lottie Moon, the great Virginian Southern Baptist Missionary. Sensing God’s call to a new faith venture, she became a member of CommUNITY (Baptist) Church in March of 2016. She was a member of the Colonel William Preston Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and also the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC).
She had strong political convictions and was an early member of the Taxed Enough Already (TEA) Party and a staunch opponent of Marxism, Socialism and Big Government. She was a member of the Republican Party and a consistent supporter of conservative values and President Donald J. Trump.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Lionel Long Etheridge; a son, James Taylor Etheridge; a brother, Emmett Jackson Boggs, Sr.; as well as a granddaughter, Mika Kathleen Etheridge. Surviving family includes her sons, Lionel Jackson Etheridge of Columbus, Ohio, CDR Robert Jeffrey Etheridge, USN (retired) and his wife, Kathleen Kumi Etheridge of Stafford, Virginia and daughter, Jill Etheridge Milam and husband, Dr. James T. Milam of Danville, Virginia; six beloved grandchildren who always knew her as “Nana”, Lauren Etheridge Shannon and husband, James Francis Shannon, III, Robert Jeffrey Etheridge II and John Lionel Etheridge, Addie Leigh Milan, Mary Kathleen (Mary Kate) Milan and James Thomas (J.T.) Milam, Jr.; great grandsons, James Francis Shannon IV and Cillian John Shannon; one brother, Michael T. Boggs and wife, Linda of Cumberland, Virginia, as well as many nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be conducted on Saturday, January 31, 2026, at CommUnity Church in Salem; service details are forthcoming.
In lieu of flowers please send donations to the DAR, the UDC, CommUnity Church, the International Mission Board, the Family Foundation and The Least of These in memory of Kathleen ‘Jeri’ Etheridge.
Online condolences may be expressed to the family by visiting www.johnmoakey.com
