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May 13, 2022
Evelyn Lucile Landis Agnor, affectionately known all of her life as "Tillie", passed from this life on May 13, 2022, in Tampa, Florida with her family at her side. Born on April 11, 1929, in Covington, Virginia to Joseph Howard Landis and Minnie Stoup Dressler Landis, she was the youngest of a large family. Her eight siblings were Clyde Landis, Frances Sprouse, Carl Dressler, Sr., William (Bill) Dressler, Sr., Charlotte Keyser, Ida Harris, Blanche Burley and Nettie Campbell. The family shaped her life with a joy of living and an ever-present optimism. This loving family gave her many memories as well as many nieces and nephews. She continued the tradition of joy, vitality, and making a difference with her own family and was the loving mother of Robert Joseph "Bob" Agnor, Freda Agnor McClung, and Charlotte Agnor Baker. She extended her love to their spouses, Kathy Stinnett Agnor, James "Jim" McClung, and Michael Baker and thought of them as her own children. "Granny" was the very proud grandmother of Liza Agnor Fitzgerald, Kelly McClung Kendrick, Holly Marie McClung, Nicholas James Baker, and Ryan Patrick Baker. She was a loving great grandmother to Luke Fitzgerald, Evelyn Fitzgerald, Henry Fitzgerald, Mason Kendrick, Logan Kendrick, and Nolan Kendrick.
Tillie graduated from Covington High School in 1947 and soon caught the eye of an Army Air Corps sergeant, Fred James Agnor, a veteran of World War II. Together, they started a lifetime of love and adventure. Tillie had trained and was scheduled to get her beautician license, but she threw caution to the wind and married Fred after graduating in 1947. They left Covington and were stationed in Washington, D.C., Texas, France, New Hampshire, Florida, and Louisiana, as Fred eventually joined the United States Air Force and took his young family on adventures around the US and overseas. No matter how far they travelled, Covington was always "Home" and the family delighted in the summer vacations home to reconnect with aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins and the matriarch of the family, Tillies mother Minnie.
Tillie did not let her stylist skills fall by the wayside. She cut, styled and permed hair for her friends and anyone who asked on Air Force bases throughout the USA as well as overseas, never charging a dime. Her mother Minnie and sister Charlotte Keyser, who both worked at Covington Department Store as seamstresses, taught Tillie the art of sewing. Tillie made dresses, suits, dance recital outfits, and formal gowns for her daughters as well as square dancing outfits for her relatives and a range of colorful custom designs for her grandchildren who asked her to bring to life amazing costumes allowing them to become dancing senoritas, winged butterflies, pilgrims, clowns and more. Her creativity knew no limit.
As a military wife, she was an expert at setting up a home and then taking it down when the time came to leave. During those years she worked at the base exchanges, in the booming manufacturing industry in New Hampshire, and in childcare.
Teaching her children the importance of hard work, she was a great example her nickname actually came from a famous comic series that started in 1921 entitled, "Tillie the Toiler" in which Tillie was a stylish working girl. She never knew her name was Evelyn Lucile until she came home from school crying because no one at school called her "Tillie". Her parents told her she could be called Evelyn or Lucile. She chose "Evelyn"; however, "Tillie" was the name she went by forevermore.
There were many fun filled summers with family gatherings at "the Farm" on Potts Creek, with cookouts, swimming, horseback riding and sleepovers. Tillie gave her children lots of leeway, but she was also protective, and her children still hold images of how she dealt with hapless snakes who happened to get too close!
When Tillie and Fred left the service after a career, they retuned "Home" and started their new life in Covington, including the newest addition of the youngest child Charlotte. Finally, they were able to put roots down, and enjoy being with family. Tillie was an active church member at McAllister Memorial Presbyterian Church throughout her years and enjoyed being a Sunday school teacher. There was never a dull moment with Tillie, and she refused to just sit home and retire. She became a house mother and worked tirelessly for the Boys Home of Virginia caring for young boys in need of love and kindness. Many Covington residents will remember her time and energy as a waitress at the K-Mart Cafe making ice cream sundaes, floats, and milkshakes with overflowing amounts of whipped cream. She loved the social interactions of meeting so many new people and gaining many friends. She cared greatly for those in need and volunteered not only for her church but also the American Cancer Society.
Tillie was very close to her beloved neighbors in Jackson Heights, especially Carolyn and Freddie Ambrose and Mary and Donald Baker. She was also happy to have her home in the same neighborhood as her brother Clyde Landis, Sr. and his wife Sadie, and her nephew Clyde Landis, Jr. Dear to her heart were all her many nieces and nephews. While Josephine Harris Paulus and Marion Campbell Williams were her nieces, they were also her constant friends and ever by her side in many adventures.
"Granny", as she was affectionately called, so loved her grandchildren, Liza, Kelly, Holly, Nicholas and Ryan. Liza was her original grandchild and Granny set the gold standard for fun by often taking her to the pool and downtown shopping at Leggetts Department Store. She traveled to Alexandria just to be help Liza get her driving permit. At every opportunity, she would go to Roanoke to be with Fredas daughters, Kelly and Holly. Picking up the girls from school always resulted in exciting, unplanned adventures. Granny was ever present in the lives of Nicholas and Ryan from the time they were born. She took them to soccer, set up backyard games for them and their friends, and held season passes for Busch Gardens, the zoo, and local museums where she kept them engaged.
During her years in Tampa watching over Nicholas and Ryan, Tillie ran the show and kept the roads hot with energy to spare. She developed many new Florida friendships with activities that kept her eternally young, like swimming, water aerobics, travelling, socializing, and sightseeing. As always, she was seen with a big, beautiful smile on her face. Her most famous saying to us was "Itll all come out in the wash." She was always right.
Tillies love for her family and friends and her perpetual happiness have marked a life well lived. We celebrate her life and her Christian faith and her final resting place in heaven.
On Friday, May 20, 2022, the family visitation night will be held from 7:00 pm until 8:30pm at Arritt Funeral Home in Covington. The funeral service will be held on Saturday, May 21, 2022 at McAllister Memorial Presbyterian Church at 11:00 am. Following the service, the burial will occur at Alleghany Memorial Park and a reception will take place immediately thereafter at the Family Tree Ts Caf at 100 Old Church Street in Low Moor, Virginia.
The funeral arrangements are being handled by Arritt Funeral Home.
The online guest registration is available at arrittfuneralhome.com.
Visitation
Service
Final Resting Place:
Alleghany Memorial Park
7008 Winterberry Ave., Covington, VA 24426
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