Obituary of Virginia B. Hale

Funeral services for Virginia Belle Hale of Elsberry, MO, will be held at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at Carter-Ricks Funeral Home in Elsberry. Rev. Allen Calkins, pastor of Star Hope Baptist Church, will officiate with burial in Higdon Christian Cemetery in Fredericktown, MO. Mrs. Hale, 68, died early Saturday morning, March 22, 2008 at the Lincoln County Medical Center in Troy, MO. Born March 7, 1940 in Elsberry, she was the daughter of Walter Guy and Ruth Mae Laird Ogden. She was united in marriage on September 20, 1962 in Granite City, IL to Howard L. Hale. She worked for several years as a Paste-Up Artist at Corley Printing Company in St. Louis, MO. She was a member of the Higdon Christian Church in Fredericktown. After moving to Elsberry she attended the Star Hope Baptist Church. She was a member of the Elsberry Lions Club, Lincoln County Old Threshers, Elsberry Senior Citizens Center and WINCO. She was preceded in death by her father, Walter Ogden; one sister, Dorothy Ogden; one son, Michael Stoner who died as an infant; one daughter, Rose Gibbs who died in 1998; and her beloved husband of 35 years, Howard Hale who died August 11, 1998. Survivors include one son, Robert Hale and his wife, Sandra, of Troy; four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. She also leaves her mother, Ruth Copher of Herrin, IL; one half-brother, Walter Ogden of Yemassee, SC; one half-sister, Catherine Rea and her husband, Leonard, of Chesterfield, MO; her special friends, Ed and Ida Hausgen; several aunts, uncles, other relatives and friends. Visitation will be held from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at Carter-Ricks Funeral Home in Elsberry. Memorials may be made to American Diabetes Association or the American Cancer Society in care of Carter-Ricks Funeral Home, 107 South Fifth Street, Elsberry, MO 63343. Online condolences may be made at www.carterricksfuneralhome.com.