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 1906 - 2009 (102 years)
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| Name |
Liuba Prudence Crane [1] |
| Birth |
25 Nov 1906 |
Rupert, Greenbrier County, WV  [2] |
| Gender |
Female |
| Death |
17 Aug 2009 |
Smoot, Greenbrier County, WV [1] |
- CLINTONVILLE — L. Prudence Piercy, 102, passed away Monday, Aug. 17, 2009, at the home of her caregiver in Smoot after a long illness.
Born Nov. 25, 1906, at Rupert, she was the youngest of five daughters born to the late William Starr and Mary Young Crane.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Jesse J. Piercy; four sisters, Lou, Margie, Amy and Carmie; and a brother, Herb.
Mrs. Piercy was educated in Greenbrier County schools, graduating from Rainelle High School and the only one of her family to do so. In her early years, she was a member of Amwell Baptist Church, where her parents were members and many of her family members belonged. In later years, she joined James Chapel United Methodist Church, Clintonville, where she belonged until her death.
Prue was the primary breadwinner for the family as Jesse was hurt in the mines. Jesse kept the family farm going while Prue worked outside of the home to provide for the family. In earlier years, she sold produce in Rainelle, later worked as a waitress, clerk for Shafer's hardware in Rupert and spent 15 years as a correctional officer at the federal women's prison in Alderson.
Prue was a wonderful mother and her entire life was wrapped around her children. She was always there for her children's activities for support. She was also a well known crafter, having made many quilts which she gave to her children and grandchildren. She was also well known for her homemade soap which she gave to everyone who would accept it. She gave a sample of her cucumber soap to Barbara Mandrell, a performer at the state fair.
She was very community-minded and was usually first in a home where there was a death or serious illness with offer of food, money or just a presence. Prue's final years were spent with Barbara, who was her primary caregiver.
She and Jesse celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1979 and they were married a total of 61 years until Jesse passed away in 1990.
Prue had a hugh number of friends — she was very well known throughout Greenbrier County. She took great joy in participating in community activities — especially the Shanghai Parade in Lewisburg on New Year's Day.
Prue loved to crochet, canning, loved her vegetable garden and took great pride in sharing with neighbors. Her home was filled with cloth bolts from her many craft activities. She was very proud of her age and took great pride that she was self-sufficient and could still drive well past her 95th birthday.
Mrs. Piercy leaves a host of family and friends and the world has been blessed to have her for almost 103 years.
Prue married Jesse J. Piercy, Nov. 29, 1929, at Rupert, and soon after they established a home in Clintonville, four children were born at the family home in Clintonville. Surviving her are James W. (Jim) and wife, Leona, of Elkview, Barbara Stone and husband, Frank, of Clintonville, Janet McNeel and husband, Lanty, of Hillsboro and Carl Curtis (Pete) and wife, Judy, of Clintonville; 13 grandchildren; two stepgrandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren and two step great-grandchildren.
Service will be 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, at the James Chapel United Methodist Church, Clintonville, with the Rev. Von Sadler officiating. Burial will follow in the James Chapel Cemetery, beside her deceased husband, Jesse Piercy.
Friends may call 5:30 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21, at the James Chapel United Methodist Church, Clintonville, and at the church one hour prior to the service Saturday.
The family acknowledges and appreciates the loving care given by the Parrish family, Larry, Glenna, Jodie and Justin, to our mother.
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| Burial |
22 Aug 2009 |
James Chapel Cemetery [1] |
| Person ID |
I103 |
Crane Genealogy |
| Last Modified |
27 Sep 2023 |
| Father |
William Starr Crane, b. 15 Aug 1856, Rupert, Greenbrier County, VA d. 3 Nov 1933, Rupert, Greenbrier County, WV (Age 77 years) |
| Mother |
Mary Isaac Young, b. 6 Jun 1863, Rocky Mountain, Franklin County, VA d. 8 Feb 1943, Rupert, Greenbrier County, WV (Age 79 years) |
| Marriage |
23 Dec 1878 |
Rupert, Greenbrier County, WV [3] |
| Family ID |
F7 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family |
Jesse James Piercy, b. 17 Jul 1901, Cornstalk, Greenbrier County, WV d. 8 Mar 1990, White Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier County, WV (Age 88 years) |
| Marriage |
30 Nov 1929 |
Baptist Parsonage, Rupert, WV [4, 5] |
- Life, anniversary full of music
By Debbie Schwarz Simpson
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS -- "Music hasn't been part of life, it has been all of our life," Prue Piercy said with a twinkle in her eyes. Sitting beside her husband in his room at the White Sulphur Springs Family Care Center, the Clintonville resident looks back over sixty years of marriage. The event was marked with a wedding anniversary celebration hosted by the couple's family as well as the staff at the nursing home on Sunday.
Like the Piercy's life, the afternoon gala was filled with melodies. The couple's youngest son, Pete Piercy and his sister Barbara Stone, founders of The Believers, a well-known gospel quartet which also includes Frank Hampton and Sterling Morgan, performed as did two of the honoree's grandchildren. Curtis and Christine Piercy are members of the Kingdom Heirs, singing with Jack Hicks and Susie and Valerie Harvey. V. Trout of Rainelle played several selections on the banjo while Garland Walkup of Hines performed on the French Harp.
Tracing her family's love of music to her husband, Mrs. Piercy recalls that it was a half century ago when Jesse Piercy played banjo with the Woodchoppers, a group that was featured on Roanoke, Va. radio for a number of years. "Our son, James, played barbershop piano," noted Mrs. Piercy. She added that her other daughter, Jane [sic] McNeel, also is adept at the piano.
The former Prudence Crane, daughter of the late W. S. and Mary Crane of Rupert and Jesse Piercy, son of Andrew J. and Mattie Piercy of Clintonville, were married on Nov. 30, 1929 by the Rev. G. A. Winebrenner at the Baptist parsonage in Rupert. With the exception of one year in Livermore, Calif., the couple has resided on the 189 acre farm at Clintonville for their entire married life. "We had a small filling station and convenience store near
Clintonville," Mrs. Piercy said, whose husband was a mechanic and farmer until ill health forced his retirement. "I was a correction officer at the Federal Correctional Institution in Alderson for 16 years, but I retired due to my husband's health," she said.
Staunch members of James Chapel United Methodist Church at Clintonville, during the reception [for] the Piercys listened as two former ministers of the small church, Rev. B. B. Mitchem , of Asbury and Rev. Sterling Morgan of Rupert, as well as a former neighbor, the Rev. Leroy Crane of Lewisburg, gave anecdotes regarding the couple's long life together.
Active in the rural community which has been home since her marriage, Mrs. Piercy was a founder of the Clintonville Home Demonstration Club and, with Blanche Whitlow, of the Clintonville Senior Citizens. "We've had a wonderful life together," Mrs. Piercy said of the long-time union which she maintains has been as harmonious as an old fashioned tune.
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| Children |
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| Family ID |
F27 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
27 Sep 2023 |
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| Notes |
- Leaving a Legacy by Heather Ziegler; The Intelligencer - Wheeling News-Register, September 26, 2009
I can't imagine what it would be like to live to be 102 years of age. But I've read a number of obituaries lately involving people who have lived to be 100 or maybe older.
While the sheer number of years intrigues me, I think it's more interesting to know what someone can do with 100-plus years of living.
Take prudence Piercy, for instance. Prudence died this past august at 102 years of age in Smoot, W. Va. It's not really important where Smoot is, but I sure wish I had had the opportunity to know this woman.
Why, you might ask. Judging from Prudence's obituary, she must have been a pretty neat lady. For one thing, Prudence worked a number of jobs and was listed as the "primary breadwinner" for the family as her husband had been hurt in the mines years before.
As her husband kept up the family farm, Prudence worked as a waitress, a clerk in a hardware store, and spent another 15 years working as a correctional officer at the federal women's prison in Alderson, W. Va.
Prudence managed to do all that and raise four children. They will tell you that her life wrapped around them with the love only a mother can offer. She made quilts for all her children and many grandchildren. dozens in fact. She also made her own soap and raised vegetables which she then canned. No one went hungry around Prudence. It's safe to say Prudence's small-town living was not overwhelmed with modern-world trappings but more with family and friends.
Growing up with a brother and four sisters (she was the youngest), Prudence was the first in her family to graduate high school. However, her education was in life, not books. She attended church, sewed, cooked and crocheted, sharing all of her talents with her family and neighbors.
Prudence's life was not measured in dollars and cents, but more in her generosity of human kindness. What a wonderful legacy she leaves her family.
Reading about Prudence gave me pause. Would I be remembered for kind acts? Will someone believe me to be a good wife, mother, daughter and sibling? Have I given more than I have taken?
It's never too late to think about what we can do with our lives that maybe will leave an imprint - not so much on a plaque - but on people's hearts.
We all have talents even if it comes in the form of reading books to kindergarten kids or baking a nice plate of brownies for a neighbor. Prudence didn't erect a skyscraper but she did buid a strong family foundation on which her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren can grow.
I'm sure Prudence was not perfect. Are any of us? Perhaps she was what people simply refer to as "a good person." Don't be dismayed by the bad news of the day. We have plenty of those good people in the world. Sometimes you just have to look into the hollows and on the hilltops to find them. [6]
- The following are random notes and information as transcribed Saturday, March 17, 2001 from hand written notes taken Thursday, March 15, 2001.
· Both Pru and Jean are of the opinion that Anna Elizabeth Crane and William H. Hines did not get married, but simply lived together. Despite the notoriety, especially given the era, it was accepted by the family, spoken of only in hushed tones and rarely in the open. But it seems it was well known by the family. Troy Hunter offers a date of marriage of April 4, 1861. William Loftus was their only child. Pru and Jean say that William was "...an older man…" that "...seduced…" Anna. Men are like that, you know.
· The son of Ermil E. Moses and Constance Persinger, Bobby Joe was adopted.
· I show Sidney Smith married twice, to two McClungs. In reality, they are the same person Laura H. "Lockie" McClung. Troy shows the "H." as standing for "Havana"; neither Pru nor Jean knew if this was correct.
· Pru had told Diane and I once that she called her uncle Benjamin (Benjamin Wilson Zopp) Uncle Clott and his wife (Catherine Crane) Aunt Kit. She was incorrect and told me that it was Uncle Clott and Aunt Kate. She corrected herself and said that she called Elizabeth Wheeler Crane, Aunt Kit and her husband, William Reece McClung, Uncle Reece. Got it?
· Jean told me that Ollie Hines Young's sister Della died on May 28, 1982 in Charleston, WV, and that Della lived in Hines most of her life. She likely died in a Charleston Hospital. Also, she said that Cecil Hines, Ollie's brother, died on September 30, 1993 and that his SSN was 235-26-5942.
· This one is amazing… Pru said that Margaret Garner, a friend of hers who is 103 years old (...and still alive…) is the daughter of Charles Morrison, who is the son of James Harvey Morrison and Mary Jane Crane, Edward's daughter. Margaret married Gerald Garner who has died, and she is now living at Graystone Landing. Jean knows her somewhat since Margaret's mother is Mary Jane Zopp, whose sister Minnie Merton Zopp is Ollie Hines' mother. Also, Mary Jane Zopp is the daughter of Joseph H. Zopp and Cynthia Jones. Joseph's brother is Benjamin Wilson Zopp, whose son Gelenco is Jean's father-in-law. Margaret and Jean are second cousins once removed, and Pru and Margaret are first cousins once removed. Pru is going to see if we can meet or call Margaret.
· While on this topic, Jean said that Charles Morrison married Mary Jane Zopp on December 26, 1894 in Rupert WV. They had 3 children, Margaret E. born February 18, 1898 in Rupert; Anna L. born March 1896 in Rupert; and Henry C. born May 1900 in Rupert.
· A little more "old lady gossip"… Pru said that Zora Ann Moses did not marry Newt O'Dell. Zora had a baby with Newt, a girl named Hazel. Newt had nothing to do with them, and Zora lived with her parents, Joseph Moses and Mary Virginia Crane, raising her daughter alone. This little tidbit is, in fact, confirmed by the 1920 US Census. Pru gives the impression that Newt was a bit of a scoundrel.
· Pru tells a story she got from her father. Seems that William Starr worked in his father Edward's general store. There was this girl who came to the store one day that had a bit of a reputation for taking things that did not belong to her. As Pru said, "If'n it weren't nailed down you knew it'd disappear." One day this girl came into Edward's store and William waited on her, having just put some fresh eggs out. The girl eventually asked William to get her something that required him to go to the back of the store, and he knew that while he was doing that, some of those fresh eggs would find their way inside of her clothing. So William went to the back, and when he came out he put the things down that he got, and walked over to her and told her it had just been so long since he saw her that he simply had to give her a hug, which he did. Tightly. Such, that he heard the eggs hidden in her blouse crack.
· Jean said that Isabel Snedegar, wife of Cyrus Rupert McClung, was born in 1854 in Greenbrier County, VA.
· I made a large error when I last spoke to Jean. Our report shows two William Benjamin Zopp, one being Jean's son and one being her grandson. The grandson is correct. Jean has only one son, James Preston. Merge the two William Benjamins, or as Jean calls him, Billy Ben.
· And while on the topic of Jean's family, her granddaughter Rebecca's children are Heather, born July 1, 1993 and Holly born June 3, 1996. Seems that Rebecca and Patrick Massie are not married, and are quite happy with that arrangement. Jean is not thrilled, but she accepts Rebecca's feelings that if she and Pat were married, they would be divorced by now. Patrick Warren Massie was born on April 15, 1969, and Pat and Rebecca are very much in love and very happy. Billy Ben is non-amicably divorced from his wife Patricia, who has primary custody of their three children. He brings the kids to Jean's on the weekend he has custody, and the kids love being around greatgrandma.
· Pru has been in touch with Blanche Yoakum Whitlow who has asked me for some information on her family, which I will send to Pru, for as much as I have. Blanche is the daughter of Cletus Yoakum and Ada Moses, making Pru and Blanche second cousins once removed. Blanche and Jim Whitlow have 2 sons, one of whom is named Bud. I will get more information about Blanche's family through Pru. [7]
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| Sources |
- [S805] Obituary, CRANE, Liuba Prudence, (20 Aug 2009, Page 6A), 27 Aug 2013 (Reliability: 2).
- [S241] County Clerk of Greenbrier County, Greenbrier County Register of Births, 14 Jan 2017, 5046. (Reliability: 3).
- [S3268] Marriage record: CRANE, William Starr & YOUNG, Mary Isaac, (Book 1B, Page 75, Year of 1878, Line 105.), Sep 1999 (Reliability: 3).
- [S3454] Marriage Record: CRANE, Liuba Prudence & PIERCY, Jesse James, (Book 10, Page 28, Year of 1929.), 14 Jan 2017 (Reliability: 3).
- [S3455] Life, anniversary full of music (Reliability: 3).
- [S806] Heather Ziegler, Leaving a Legacy, (The Intelligencer - Wheeling News-Register), 28 Aug 2013 (Reliability: 3).
- [S808] Michael Pavesi, Conversation with P. C. Piercy and E. C. Zopp, 28 Aug 2013, March 15, 2001. (Reliability: 3).
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