Obituaries

Glenna Lemon Cosgrove Avriett

Photo of Glenna Lemon Cosgrove Avriett
Glenna Lemon Cosgrove Avriett, 92, of Conway and Sherwood passed away Dec. 3, 2014. She was born Dec. 30, 1921 in Nocona, Texas to the late Clifford Columbus Lemon and Lillie Mae Jones Lemon. Her family moved to Oklahoma when she was four and she spent the rest of her childhood in Oklahoma, graduating from Enid High School in 1939. Her friends from high school, the CRD's, remained some of her dearest friends throughout her life. She attended the University of Oklahoma for three years, leaving to join the war effort when America entered WWII. She worked in the personnel office when the Naval Air Technical Training Center, Naval Hospital,and Naval Air Field were built in Norman, Okla. to train our soldiers to defend our country. She was asked to participate in a War Bond Queen contest, which she won after personally raising over $120,000. She met and married David Shelby Phillips and moved to Washington, D.C., where she became the administrative assistant to Admiral Nimitz in the newly built Pentagon. She later received top-secret clearance as one of two women who worked on Operation Paperclip, a covert operation at the Pentagon. In 1955, she moved to Oklahoma City, Okla. and later married Charles Cosgrove. The family moved to Little Rock Air Force Base in 1962, where she became a founding member of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Jacksonville, Ark. She was the first female elected to a vestry in the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas. While raising five children, Glenna took correspondence courses and night classes to complete her bachelor of arts degree, majoring in political science. She began her teaching career at Jacksonville High School, teaching distributive education and was eventually named the D.E. Teacher of the Year in the state of Arkansas. In 1972, she completed her masters of education in vocational education from the University of Arkansas and became the director of distributive education at the Arkansas Department of Education. After retiring, she married Giles Croxton Avriett, a dear friend from many years prior and they enjoyed seven years together before his death. Glenna enjoyed researching her beloved Lemon ancestry and traveled extensively to verify genealogy documents with her brother, Haskell. She enjoyed gardening, politics, cooking, reading and serving on the Altar Guild at St. Luke's Episcopal Church. Her last volunteer service was as a docent at the Clinton Presidential Library. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Giles; brothers, Haskell and Bill and sisters-in-law, Irene and Betty. She is survived by her five children; David Phillips and wife, Sharon of North Carolina, Lillian Wittenberg and husband, Tom of Little Rock, Bill Phillips and wife, Lynn of Kentucky, Pattie Howse of Conway and Ethelyn Sato and husband, Takehiko of Japan. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Nathan Howse, Mary-Phillip O'Connell, Shelby Cotton, Jenny Cockrill, Justin Wittenberg,Lauren Beck, Will Phillips, Rob Phillips, John Phillips, Benson Phillips, Gena Palmer, Ken Sato, Gene Sato, Koki Sato, Yumi Sato, David Phillips, Todd Phillips, Billy Phillips, Timothy Phillips and Heather Phillips, She is also survived by 15 great-grandchildren and one brother, Keith Lemon. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 8, 2014 at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Little Rock officiated by the Right Rev. Doctor Christoph Keller III and the Rev. Canon Paul McLain, with burial at Roselawn Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Arkansas Watershed Agency to help provide food and care for other Arkansans, 3701 Springer Blvd, Little Rock, 72206; Cradle Care to help support young mothers to continue their education, 2400 Prince Street, Conway, AR 72034; or Heifer Project, 1 World Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72202. Arrangements are under the direction of Ruebel Funeral Home, www.ruebelfuneralhome.com.

Published December 7, 2014

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