Neva Priest Draper

DRAPER, PRIEST, TRAVIS, TURNER

Posted By: Mary Welty Hart (email)
Date: 2/3/2006 at 22:14:11

NEVA DRAPER, Des Moines

Winterset Madisonian
December 29, 2004

Neva Lenoir Draper, 92, of Des Moines died Dec. 26, 2004, at her home.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 30, at Kale Funeral Home in Truro with the Rev. R. Jerry Crenshaw officiating. Open visitation will be today (Wed. Dec. 29) at the funeral home. The family will greet friends one hour prior to the service on Thursday. Burial will be at Ebenezer Cemetery, Walnut Township, Madison County.

Neva Draper was born Nov. 8, 1912, to John Shirley and Maggie (Travis) Priest of Peru. She attended Ebenezer School for eight years, graduated from Truro High School in 1930 and attended Simpson College for two years, where she received her primary teaching certificate. On July 31, 1942, she married Clair Elwin Draper in Yuma, Ariz. In the early 1940s, she lived in Texas. She had resided in her current home since 1949. Neva taught at several schools during her teaching career - including Garret, Ebenezer, Zion Consolidated of rural Orient, Carbon School in Carbon, Iowa, Marion School in Marion, Iowa, and in the Des Moines School District. During World War II, she was employed as a parachute packer. She was a member of Indianola Heights Christian Church (Desciples of Christ). She also had been very active in scouting as a leader.

She was preceded in death by her husband; one son, Ronald Eugene Draper; and a brother, Amel Priest.

She is survived by one daughter, Sandra Turner of Des Moines, three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.