Lydia VanDoren's Obituary
Lydia Ann Van Doren, of Boston, VA, died on the morning of Tuesday, July 12, at the age of 61. A beloved mother, daughter, sister, and partner in life, Lydia is survived by her father Fred; her sister Ellen Cottrell; her brother John; her best friend and high school sweetheart Bryant “Sonny” Hicks, Jr.; her daughter Tonya-Marie Howe; her son Nathaniel Howe, daughter-in-law Jessica Howe, and her new grandson Nathan.
Lydia was born to Helen and Fred on January 25, 1950, in Somerville, NJ; she graduated Magna cum Laude from Germanna Community College in 1981, with an Associates Degree in Applied Sciences and Business Management. In 1969, she served her country in the Marine Corps out of El Toro, California. Lydia married twice, and she devoted much of her life to raising her son and daughter while working as a single mother.
In 2008, she retired from a twenty-one-year career at the Culpeper Town Office. Lydia was an avid gardener, an accomplished quilter, and an animal lover who was known to take in strays. She enjoyed being active with the American Legion, especially at Monday night bingo, where she will be sorely missed. She will be remembered by family, friends, and acquaintances as gentle and hardworking, strong and self-effacing, sometimes shy but also unexpectedly adventurous. Her daughter was surprised to learn of her prior life as a free spirit.
Lydia applied for her first passport in 2004, and she now has stamps from Scotland.
Lydia is preceded in death by her mother Helen Weibel Van Doren and her brother Frank.
The family will receive friends on Thursday, July 14, 2011 from 6 p.m.to 8 p.m. at Found and Sons Funeral Chapel, 850 Sperryville Pike, Culpeper, VA.
A funeral service will be held on Friday, July 15, 2011 at 11 a.m. at Found and Sons Funeral Chapel with Father Leo Zonneveld officiating.
Interment will follow in Culpeper National Cemetery with military honors provided by the Culpeper American Legion Post 330 and V.F.W. Post 2524.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that charitable donations be made in Lydia's name to the Humane Society of Culpeper, P.O. Box 1224, Culpeper, VA 22701.
Found and Sons Funeral Chapel of Culpeper is handling the arrangements.
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