Geraldine L. Abner

ABNER, Geraldine L., age 78, of Waynesville, passed away Wednesday, December 18, 2024, at Hospice of Butler and Warren Counties. A faithful Christian, Geraldine was a member of the Red Lion Lord of Glory Holiness Church. As a sales representative for Avon, she sold cosmetics for 38 years. She also worked at Quaker Heights Nursing Home in Waynesville and Cedar Valley Plastics in Lebanon for a handful of years. In addition, she was elected to and served on the Corwin Council for six years. Caring, giving, helpful, and loving, Geraldine was committed to her faith in the Lord. She was proud of her Holiness Christian upbringing and greatly enjoyed attending church, church activities, and reading Christian books. In addition to the Bible, Amish Christian literature was some of her favorite books to read. During her younger days, she loved attending auctions with her dad. Throughout her life, she enjoyed thrift shopping, especially Goodwill and garage sales, which in more recent years became an activity that she enjoyed with her son-in-law. Working jigsaw puzzles, canning sauerkraut, and cooking were some of her other favorite hobbies. Among many cooked items that she was known for, her homemade vegetable soup, cornbread, vinegar pie, and potato candy were some of her most notable delectables. However, it was her homemade dumplings that she made for holiday get-togethers, church functions, post-funeral meals, and virtually all special occasions that family and friends will think of the most when thinking of Geraldine’s delicious cooking. Every Saturday night after attending church, Geraldine had a tradition of eating dinner at Frisch’s Big Boy restaurant, which she always looked forward to. Extremely patriotic toward our country, she collected Americana items and always supported veterans and veteran events. Each year during Memorial Day, she never missed attending the veteran event at Miami Cemetery hosted by the American Legion. She also had a tradition of supplying eggshell foam bedding to the funeral home to be placed in caskets of family and friends. Whenever she called the funeral home, the staff knew that she was either requesting the extra thick padding for a loved one’s casket or a box of calendars that she delivered each year to her church family. Other memorable traditions that Geraldine enjoyed included talking on the phone for hours, enjoying breakfast for dinner on Christmas Eve with family, and monitoring the local police scanner. Geraldine was preceded in death by her parents, Boyd and Lonia Hisle; and one sister, Elrena Marshall. She is survived by two daughters, Valerie Long and Herchelle (Andy) Shipman; grandson, Seth; one sister, Christine Vanover; uncle, Ray (Ve Ron) Lamb; aunt, Faye Riddell; brother-in-law, John Marshall; and several nieces, nephews, extended family members, and friends. The family will receive friends from 4 -8 PM on Thursday, December 26 at Red Lion Lord of Glory Holiness Church. A funeral service will be held at 11 AM Friday at the church, followed by a committal service at Miami Cemetery in Corwin. Jeff Isaacs will be officiating the services. Stubbs-Conner Funeral Home in Waynesville is serving the family. Condolences at www.stubbsconner.com.

Geraldine L. Abner

October 7, 1946 - December 18, 2024