Lennora J. Owens Skeeter – Metropolitan Funeral
On Thursday, December 21, 2023, Mrs. Lennora Owens Skeeter was ushered from time to eternity at Lake Taylor Transitional Hospital in Norfolk, VA. Born to the late Joe Thomas and Lenno S. Owens on July 25, 1938, Lennora was a native of Nansemond County and was one of six siblings. She married the late Lorenza I. Skeeter and to this union were born four children. A 1955 graduate of East Suffolk High School, Lennora went on to have a fulfilling twenty-six (26) year career at Norfolk Naval Supply Center as a supply clerk and successfully retired in 1998. She was also a school bus driver for Nansemond County Public Schools for seventeen (17) years.
Lennora accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior at an early age and became a faithful and active member of the Mt. Ararat Christian Church until her health began to decline. She maintained her faith in God and always stated as her condition worsened, “The Lord knows I’m here!” She enthusiastically enjoyed serving on the Women’s Fellowship, Missionary Lodge, and Senior Usher Board. She took great pleasure in belonging to the United Church of Christ Church Women’s Ministry and traveled to their quarterly meetings in Virginia and North Carolina. Traveling was one of her passions as she would often pack her car and off to Richmond she’d go, making sure she’d arrive before the rush hour traffic began. Spending time with, and supporting, her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren took precedence over everything else. She always wanted to know when our next family vacation would be. After the premature death of her daughter, Robin, Lennora raised her grandson, Christopher, from childhood to adulthood. She was selfless and epitomized what it meant to be a phenomenal woman. Her family, faith, and friends were quintessential to the tapestry of her identity as the family matriarch — always hosting annual gatherings and holidays.
On June 28, 1963, Lennora was selected by the Independent Voters League to escort The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and members of The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) from Norfolk International Airport to Suffolk for a Freedom Rally to address an estimated 7,500 citizens at Peanut Park and Union Hall on E. Washington St. amidst the swelling tensions of the Civil Rights Movement. She was an ardent supporter of the Black Freedom movement; remained committed to championing causes of justice, equality, and voter education; and served two terms as a Justice of the Peace. Her love for God was evidenced in the community and in the church.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Joe Thomas and Lenno Owens; sister, Rev. Margaret Robinson, foster sister, Gloria Perry; brothers, Joe Henry and Wesley Owens. She leaves to cherish her memory three daughters, Sharon S. Morris (Earl), Dale S. Batten, (Jerry), and Crystal S. Waller (Wendell); six grandchildren, Terrell L. Morris (Brooke), Jasmine R. Miller (Chris), Christopher D. Skeeter (Xochitl), Jermile B. Hayes (Rashad), Rev. W. Kenny Rice Jr., and Jivari Perry; six great-grandchildren, Kendall, Scarlett, CJ, Summer, and Zachary, and Jesus Julian Torres; two sisters, Kathleen O. Simmons and Marice O. Griffith; foster brother, Earl Eley (Jannine); sons-in-law, W. Kenny Rice, Sr. and Rev. E. Brion Perry (Karen); sisters-in-law, Dora Lockett and Eloise Skeeter; brother-in-law, Aubrey Skeeter; two (2) first cousins, Vivian Jubray and Janet Riddick. She has “fought a good fight, finished her race, and kept the faith. Now there is laid up for her the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to her on that day.”
