Eva (Oakley) Isom

Eva Oakley Isom passed away peacefully, May 15, 2023, at her home in Toano, VA, where she had lived for the past two years.

Born May 17, 1927, Eva was the fifth of thirteen children born to Walter K and Ida Terrell Oakley. She and her siblings grew up on a farm in Caswell County, NC.

As a young woman Eva left the farm for the big city of Danville, VA, and a job in Dan River Mills. Shortly thereafter, she met Cleaters Stanley, recently honorably discharged from the army after serving abroad in WWII. A whirlwind romance ensued and they were married May 18, 1946. Together they had three daughters, Betty, Wilmer and Sandra and made many good memories before his sudden and untimely death in 1963.

With her daughters’ grown, Eva married James Frederick Isom in 1974. They enjoyed travel, spending time with family and canning or freezing the multitude of vegetables in their garden or purchased from local farmers. When his health began to fail, Eva became his primary caregiver and retired from her job in Dan River Mills after 45+ years. Spending time with family was a great source of pleasure for them both. After his passing in 2006, Eva continued living alone in their home until a bad fall in September 2020 made it impossible for her to do so. She moved to Toano, VA, to live with her daughter Wilmer Stanley and was lovingly cared for by all three daughters and their families.

We were all blessed to have her part of our lives for so long and will always remember the strength, loyalty, fun and love she gave us along the way.

Some of the many memories we have of her include the things she enjoyed in her everyday life:

Making chicken and dumplings for family who were sick or just in need of comfort food, country music, walking in the mall, tending to her many roses, shrubs and flowering plants. She could be found weeding flower beds well into her 90s. She enjoyed her daily and numerous phone conversations with her sister-in-law and BFF Doris Oakley and Sunday dinners with Doris and Walter and their children. She loved the fuss everyone made over the sour cream coconut cake she made for every Oakley reunion. She was an avid shopper, always searching for bargains and often buying things she couldn’t use but thought surely someone else could. Holidays with her daughters and their families were especially fun, arriving with the car trunk full of food and Christmas presents. She loved playing with her grandchildren and their children at every opportunity.

Left to cherish her memory are her daughters, Betty & Harold Johnson, Wilmer Stanley, and Sandra and Frank Dimes as well as 7 grandchildren, 11 great grandchildren, 2 great great grandchildren, 1 sister, 2 brothers and a host of dear nieces, nephews and friends.

Funeral services will be conducted Friday, May 19th, at Swicegood-Barker Funeral Services, 564 West Main Street, at 2pm. Visitation will be held 1 hour earlier.

Swicegood Funeral Service is respectfully serving the Isom family. 

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