Sussex-Surry County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Cobb, L. Ann Seward, 2007 

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LELIA ANN SEWARD BEALE COBB 

  WAKEFIELD - Ann Seward Beale Cobb, 80, a resident of Wakefield, died 
Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007, at Waverly Healthcare Center in Waverly, Va.

  Born on Dec. 27, 1926, in Surry County, she was the daughter of the late 
Henry Elton Seward and Lelia Ellis Seward.  As a child, Ann and her family 
attended Surry Baptist Church.  She graduated from Surry High School.  During 
World War II, she drove a school bus for Surry County schools.  Near the end 
of the war, she married Robert Lee "Dick" Beale in August 1945.

  Ann and Dick established a rural farming family at Owns Grove Farm between 
Waverly and Wakefield, where the family farmed together and they raised a 
family of four children.  Dick died on October 1964, after a long illness. 
Ann was a woman of great tenacity and tireless spirit, perhaps best 
illustrated by her founding of Ann's Dress Shoppe 30 years ago.  Anyone who 
met Ann knew right away that she had spunk (a word her mother liked to use). 
What they may not have appreciated is the depth of her courage.  Thrust into 
the role of breadwinner by the untimely loss of her husband, Ann had 
confronted adversity by going to work for Miller and Rhodes in Petersburg, 
where she had learned the ins and outs of the retail clothing business.  In 
1972, she married R. Myrick Cobb, Jr.  In August 1977, Ann opened her small 
ladies' clothing store in Wakefield, Ann's Dress Shoppe, overcoming the 
considerable challenges women face in the business world.  Ann "started with 
nothing," as she would later reflect, and gradually built a successful small 
business.  She drew upon her life experiences - knowledge of sewing gained as 
a homemaker, business acumen, and bookkeeping skills used on the family farm, 
and years in retailing - to create goodness and prosperity.  Where some may 
have despaired, her determination and perseverance revealed her underlying 
trust in the ultimate goodness of God.  Today, her legacy continues as Ann's 
Dress Shoppe, LLC, is operated successfully by her daughter, Robin 
Scarborough.

  Ann is survived by her husband, R. Myrick Cobb, Jr.; a son, R.L. "Dicky" 
Beale, Jr., and wife, Betty, of Wakefield; three daughters, Carol Ann Pond 
of Petersburg, Brenda Pope and husband, Leverette, of Waverly, and Robin 
Scarborough and husband, Todd, of Surry County; a sister, Virginia "Bunky" 
Thacker and her husband, Raymond, of Smithfield; 12 grandchildren; and 11 
great-grandchildren.

  Ann was preceded in death by her husband, Robert Lee "Dick" Beale; a sister, 
Mary Lee Brittle; and brothers, Baxter, Henry and Roy Seward.

  A funeral service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 9, at the 
Wakefield Methodist Church with the Rev. Connie Gibbs officiating.  The family 
will be at the residence in Wakefield, 104 Pinecrest St., Wakefield, to 
receive family and friends.

  Memorial donations may be made to the Waverly Volunteer Rescue Squad, Ivor 
Volunteer Rescue Squad, or the Wakefield United Methodist Church.

  Purviance Funeral Home, Wakefield, is handling the arrangements. 


Lelia Ann (SEWARD BEALE; Mrs. R. Myrick Jr.) COBB, founder of Ann's Dress Shoppe,
b. 27 Dec 1926, Surry Co., d. 6 Sep 2007, Waverly, 
interred in Wakefield Cemetery*, 9 Sep 2007, 
donated obit, publication unknown 

*Wakefield list, an extension of 
   the Southampton County Historical Society {SCHS} Cemetery Project: 
   http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/sussex/cemeteries/wakefd.txt 


Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by 
Mrs. Bruce Saunders (bs4403@verizon.net), 
and re-formatted by File Manager. 

file at: 
http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/sussex/obits/c100a14o.txt