Ella was born and raised in Belfast, Virginia on June 22, 1924 to Grover and Pearl White. She joins her eight brothers and sisters in heaven, Guy, Ruth, Henry, Dot, Bill, R.A., Don, and Lois. She grew up on the farm riding horses, doing chores, and making great memories with her tightknit family. Her many nieces, nephews, friends back home love Aunt Ames dearly.
As the wife of two veterans, meeting her in heaven is also the two loves of her life, Frank Lafon (USMC) and Joseph Lopresti (USN).
Ella was a devoted mother to two daughters, Ella Spruill (JC) and Nita Anderson (Ronnie). Nanny was a loving grandmother to Larry Spruill (Heather), Laurie Havens (Edward), Foster Spruill, Julie McManus (Brian), Connie Coffield (Vince), Aimee Angeles (Juan), and Courtney Muller (Brian) and cherished great-grandmother to Cameron, Logan, Mason, Gabrielle, Danielle, Rachel, Ciara, Ryan, Andy, and another great-granddaughter on the way. She leaves a treasured host of extended family and friends that she loved and considered family. We will all miss Nanny dearly.
She was the matriarch of a large family and in retirement built a beautiful, warm, open home in the country for her family to visit. From those visits to “Nanny’s house,” we learned by her example that family always comes first and to help each other when times get tough. She had a unique way of making each of us feel like we were her favorite. Holidays and family gatherings were always a special time and there were two rules at Nanny’s house: “the good kind” was the only kind of food she made, and if you left her house hungry it was your fault.
Ella was a long-time member of St Peters Episcopal Church.
Funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, February 27, 2020, at Rosewood-Kellum Funeral Chapel in Virginia Beach. Burial will follow in the Rosewood Memorial Park.
Visitation is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday, February 26, 2020, at the funeral home.
