NORFOLK - Mary Elizabeth Keys Ferebee, 89, crossed over Jordan on Sunday, May 16, 2010. Born Jan. 31, 1921 to James Bradford and Tabitha Jane Billings Keys on a farm in Dardanelle, Ark., she spent most of her adult life in Tidewater.
She was predeceased by her eldest daughter, Florence Ann Ferebee Pope and four brothers and two sisters: Bruce, Clarence, Clara, Carl, Clora and George.
Mary attended nursing school in Texas and met her husband, Oscar Benson Ferebee Jr., at Hickham Field in Hawaii (on V.J. Day) where, as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps and a flight nurse, she served during World War II. She loved bird watching, gardening, cooking, and quilting, making an elegant science of keeping an immaculate home.
She is survived by two daughters, Amy Elizabeth Ferebee Supan of Norfolk and Mary Keys Ferebee Maddox of Spartanburg, S.C.; seven grandchildren, Lexa Pope of Palo Alton, Calif., Sara Pope Agelasto of Nellysford, Va., Finn Supan of Richmond, Va., Joshua Supan of Pittsburgh, Ferebee Tunno of Jonesboro, Ark., Cyrus Maddox of Chicago, McGee Maddox of Toronto, Canada; several nieces and nephews; and Jackson and Bernice Pope, who embraced our Nana as one of their own.
The family is deeply grateful for the excellent care Mary received from the skillful and attentive staffs of Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital and Odyssey Hospice Care with special thanks going to Nori Walters, Julie Aigle, Judy McDonald and Gloria Wiggins for going beyond the call of duty to keep our loved one safe and comfortable.
A graveside celebration will be held Sunday, May 30, at noon in Forest Lawn on Granby Street in Norfolk.
Altmeyer Funeral Home, 5792 Greenwich Road, Virginia Beach, 757-422-4000, is in charge.

Virginian-Pilot, The (Norfolk, VA) - May 25, 2010 Page B6
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