Ova Dell (Wood) Killough, 84, died Friday, March 6, 2009 in a Montgomery hospital following complications from pneumonia. Funeral services will be held Monday, March 9, 2009 at 2 p.m. at Union Baptist Church in Honoraville, with the Rev. William Burns officiating and Harrison Funeral Home of Greenville directing. Interment to follow in the churchyard cemetery with Harrison Funeral Home directing. The body will lie in repose one half-hour prior to Monday’s services.
A visitation will be held Sunday night, March 8, at the funeral home from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
“Miss Ova,” as she was known to many, was born January 20, 1925 in Putnam County, Tenn., to an itinerant Baptist preacher, Jesse Ellis Wood and Sarah Belle (Brewer) Wood. She was the couple’s sixth of nine children who lived to adulthood. Following high school, she trained as a practical nurse.
She married Joseph Lamar Killough in March 1946. The couple met when “Mr. Joe” was stationed as a military policeman at a German POW camp near Crossville, Tenn. The Killoughs lived on the family farm in eastern Butler County, near Honoraville, where they raised three daughters: Deborah (Deb), Sara and Angela (Angie).
Mr. Killough passed away in March 2003.
Miss Ova worked as a nurse at the old Speir Hospital in Greenville and in Dr. Philip Speir’s office. She and her husband raised poultry for more than two decades.
For many years, Miss Ova was an active member of the Order of the Eastern Star. She was also a longtime member of Union Baptist Church in Honoraville, where she served in a variety of roles, from Sunday School teacher to Hospitality Chair as long as her health allowed.
She was noted for her southern hospitality, displayed in her warm welcomes and talent for good old-fashioned home-style cooking. An expert seamstress, she kept her three daughters well dressed for any school, church or social event.
Mrs. Killough was preceded in death by five brothers, Ernest, Aubrey, Oscar, Ed and Orly Wood; one sister Ada Randolph, and an infant brother.
She is survived by: three daughters, Deborah K. Stafford, Birmingham, Sara (Tony) Torruella of Foley/Orange Beach and Angela (Benny) Long of Honoraville; three grandchildren, Heather (Erik) Lambert of Birmingham, Shannon Franklin of Nashville, Tenn., and Erwin Franklin of Tuscaloosa; two great-grandchildren, Abbigail Lambert and Hope Lambert, and two sisters, Maxine Lewis of Gallatin, Tenn., and Lillie Boswell of Monterey, Tenn., numerous nieces, nephews and other extended family members.
The family extends its deepest gratitude to the staffs at L.V. Stabler Memorial Hospital and the MICU at Baptist South for their professionalism and compassion.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Union Baptist Church Cemetery Fund, in C/O Charlie Parson, 857 McGough Lane, Luverne, AL 36049.