Mabel Coe Stoneburner Zirkle
27 Oct 1895 - 26 May 1997
My beloved grandmother - the only babysitter I ever had. My oldest cousin called
her "Bobboy" and the name stayed with her among the younger relatives until death.
All of our friends called her that too. She loved everyone. She was the model for
all grandmothers.
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Note: When my great-grandmother died, she asked my grandmother to take care of
her youngest brother (my great-uncle), Kenny W. Stoneburner, as he was only 21 at
the time of her death. She stayed true to that promise for 76 years, as Ken never
married. They were either neighbors or lived together until Kenny passed away at
age 98, only five months before my grandmother.
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Mabel Coe Stoneburner Zirkle, 101, of Edinburg, died Monday, May 26, 1997 in
Woodstock, VA.
A funeral service will be held Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. at St. Johns United Methodist
Church in Edinburg with the Rev. Richard Norris officiating. Interment will be in
Cedarwood Cemetery.
Mrs. Zirkle, affectionatly known to everyone as "Miss Mabel", was born in Edinburg
on October 27, 1895, the daughter of Robert E. Lee Stoneburner and Rosa Grandstaff
Stoneburner. She was the oldest citizen Edinburg has ever had and was active right
up until her death.
Miss Mabel was a graduate of the State Normal School, now known as JMU, and she
taught in Shenandoah County for a number of years before her marriage. She was a
90-year member of St. Johns United Methodist Church and of the United Methodist
Women of St. Johns. Miss Mabel was a charter member of the VFW Ladies Auxillary,
Post #2447, and she was awarded a 60 year membership pin just recently.
She was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother who was gracious, warm and generous,
and loved by all who knew her.
Both Mrs. Zirkle's husband, Paul Casper Zirkle, and her only son, Jack William
(Mike) Zirkle, predeceased her. She is survived by her daughter, Rosemary Zirkle
McDonald and her daughter-in-law, Lorraine Boyer Zirkle; four grandchildren,
Gloria McDonald Boone, William McDonald, Jr., Georga Zirkle Bracker, and Rebecca
Zirkle Myers; ten great-grandchildren and eleven great-great grandchildren.
Pallbearers will be Michael, David and Rusty Boone, William McDonald III and Jeremy
Rhoades, all great-grandsons of Miss Mabel's, and Cletus Ritenour, friend and neighbor.
Flowers are accepted, or memorial contributions may be made to St. Johns United
Methodist Church Organ Fund, P.O. Box 310, Edinburg, 22824.
Published in the Northern Virginia Daily, May 28, 1997.
Above courtesty of Janice Miller