Eleanor Wilma Jean “Vandy” Vandergrift, 84, of Salem, peacefully went home to be with the Lord on Monday, July 2, 2018.
Wilma was preceded in death by her parents, James Thomas and Texas Anna Gladden; husband of 32 years, Frank Jarrett Vandergrift; daughter, Melanie Elaine (Baker) Coley; son, Gary Clayton Baker; granddaughter, Angelique Sokol Baker; grandson, Jason Thomas Baker; six brothers; three sisters; and her beloved dog, Heidi.
Left to cherish her memory are children, Vicki Diane Miller and husband, Ray, Kathi Jean Baker Gonzalez, Douglas Warren Baker, Sr. and wife, Betty, Wilma Jean Vandergrift Guthrie and husband, Pete, and Ronnie Creasy; grandchildren, Matthew, Doug, Gary, Andrew, Melanie, Jeffery and Vicki; seventeen great-grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews; and sister-in-law, Martha Altizer Gladden.
Wilma was a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She was also a devoted nurse at Richfield Nursing Home for over 40 years where she developed many friendships. Wilma was the kind of person who never turned anyone away and had the ability to make a dead plant grow. She was a dog lover and devoted dog owner to her fur babies.
The family received friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, July 6, at John M. Oakey & Son Chapel. A funeral service was held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 7, at The Church of Latter-Day Saints, 6311 Wayburn Drive, Salem, Virginia 24153, officiated by Bishop Joseph Randy Havens, Sr.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.johnmoakey.com.
