Luverda "Lu" Wood

Luverda Wood, 86, of Connersville, died Sunday morning, February 12, 2012, at Reid Hospital, Richmond. She was a Fayette County native, born July 15, 1925 to Fred and Jane Carpenter Smith Drew. Luverda was a 1943 graduate of Orange High School and was married at the First United Methodist Church to Ralph E. Wood on June 29, 1946. She retired from Union Savings and Loan and had previously been employed at Stant Manufacturing and the former Central State Bank. “Lu” was a member of the Red Hat Society and had attended the First Baptist Church. She enjoyed sewing, cooking and shopping and had been active in the Columbia community. In her leisure time she liked visiting the Smokey Mountains and traveling with the senior citizens’ special trips. Luverda is survived by two children: Karen Hudson; Larry T. Wood and his wife, Charlene, all of Connersville; a sister: Opal Gardner of Elgin, Illinois; four grandchildren: Angela Hudson of Centerville, Stephen Hudson and his wife, Casey of Connersville; Leighton Wood and his wife, Lindsay of Brownsville; Lauren Wood of West Lafayette; four great-grandchildren: Jessica, Lily and Wesley Hudson, all of Connersville; Lylah Wood of Brownsville; several nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, Luverda was preceded in death by her husband who died August 18, 1986; four brothers: Thomas, William, Edwin and Carlton Drew; and a sister: Marilyn Lynch. Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Thursday at Showalter Blackwell Long Funeral Home, Myers Chapel, Connersville, with Pastor Mal Gibson of the First Baptist Church, officiating. Interment will follow in Laurel North Cemetery. Friends may visit at the funeral home from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday where memorial contributions may be made to Healthy Animals. For additional information and to send condolences or memories, go to www.ShowalterBlackwellLong.com.