Erma Lorraine (Davis) Wyatt Price of Benton
Erma Lorraine (Davis) Wyatt Price of Benton passed away Jan. 4, 2018, at Parkway Manor in Marion.
Lorraine was born at her family home in Marion March 13, 1927, the youngest of four children, to Roy C. and Erma (Malcom) Davis. Her siblings were Aileen, James and Carroll.
Lorraine married Charles B. Wyatt Nov. 2, 1947, at the Wyatt family farm near Rend City. Together they had four children, Sandy, Rodney, Barry and Ross. They were married for 24 years before Charles passed away Feb. 12, 1972.
On March 28, 1975, Lorraine married Walter S. Price. Walter passed away June 18, 2015, shortly after their 40th wedding anniversary.
Lorraine held a variety of jobs in her life including selling Cloverine Salve in sixth grade, painting a porch in exchange for a bicycle, and working as a telephone operator. For many years she was a farmer's wife and homemaker. Her family was the most important part of her life. She worked for the Benton Water Department and the Benton City Clerk's office.
Lorraine always had a passion for working with books. In eighth grade, she was a volunteer for the Marion Junior High library, and as a senior in high school worked for the Marion High School library and the Marion Carnegie Library. When she attended Southern Illinois Normal College, she worked for three years at Wheeler Library, cataloguing books. She eventually retired from the Benton Public Library in 1995.
Lorraine was an active member of First Christian Church in Benton, and given her love of books and Christian faith, she very much enjoyed studying the Bible. She was an avid reader and had a personal library. She enjoyed gardening, both flowers and vegetables and liked to do many kinds of crafts, crosswords and jigsaw puzzles. She and Walter enjoyed taking road trips to visit family.
Lorraine is survived by daughter Sandy Roberts; sons, Rodney (Kim Alvarez) Wyatt of Costa Mesa, Calif., Barry (Karen) Wyatt of Benton, and Ross (Janis) Wyatt of Marion; grandchildren Britt (fiancée Tia Fletcher) Roberts of Jonesboro, Cameron (Sara) Roberts of Dunbarton, N.H., Darson (Kevin) Rhodes of Hamlin, N.Y., Jeremiah Wyatt of Dunedin, Fla., Erik Berrey of Carbondale, Amanda (Kyle) Carr of Hoover, Ala., and Josey (Whitney) Wyatt of Carbondale; and nine great-grandchildren.
Lorraine's family by marriage includes Linda (Roy) Turner of Fort Sumner, N.M., Martha (Chuck) Lisner of Pensacola, Fla., Paul (Elaine) Price of Sammamish, Wash., and Evan (Gayle) Price of Chandler Ariz.; grandchildren Robert (Misty) Shaw of Tuscon, Ariz., Karen (Fred) Ciancio of Cheyenne, Wyo., Jillian Lisner of Dallas, Texas, Morgan Lisner of Huntsville, Ala., and Hailey Price of Edmonds, Wash.; and four great-grandchildren.
Lorraine was preceded in death by her parents, husband Charles; husband Walter; all of her siblings; and daughter-in-law Cindy Price.
The family is especially grateful to friend and caregiver Irene Cluck, who contributed so much to Lorraine's comfort in the past years. Irene's patience, kindness and compassion embodied the best of her faith.
In accordance with Lorraine's wishes, she will be cremated, and her remains will be entrusted to Pate Funeral Home in Benton.
A celebration of Lorraine's life will be held at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 21 at First Christian Church in Benton.
In lieu of flowers, consider memorials to First Christian Church in Benton or the Benton-West City Ministerial Alliance.
Condolences may be expressed online at patefh.com.