Courtland - Lillia Johnson "Doodle" Applewhite, 86, passed away on Saturday, January 15th, at the East Pavilion in Franklin. Raised in Sedley, she was predeceased by her parents James Maywood and Calla Dunbar Johnson and two sisters, Elizabeth Johnson Burgess and Llewellyn Johnson Miller. After attending Madison College where she was trained as a medical assistant, she worked at the Stevens Clinic in Welch, West Virginia. Post World War II, she and Lloyd Allen, her husband for nearly 66 years, made Applewhite Acres, the family home place, their place of residence. A longstanding member of the Courtland Baptist Church, Mrs. Applewhite was also a former member of the Country Acres Garden Club, volunteered as a Pink Lady at Southampton Memorial Hospital, and greatly enjoyed music and travel.
Mrs. Applewhite is survived by her husband, Lloyd A. Applewhite; her three children and their spouses, Judith Applewhite Chen (Sullivan) of Huntington, New York, L. Allen Applewhite, Jr., (Martha) of Courtland, and Debra Applewhite Crisp (Jimmy) of Raleigh, North Carolina and two sisters, Charlotte Johnson Vedeler of Gainesville, Virginia, and Jacqueline Johnson Bratton of Glen Allen, Virginia. She was the proud grandmother of six grandchildren, Gregory Allen Applewhite, Christopher Carter Applewhite,Ashton Chen, Clifford Ashton Applewhite, Abbie Crisp Williamson, and Heather Chen Eisner; and four great grandchildren, Taylor Ann Applewhite, William Gregory Applewhite, Christopher Carter Applewhite, Jr., and Elizabeth Reid Williamson.
A visitation will be held at Wright Funeral Home, Franklin, on Monday, January 17th from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. A graveside service, officiated by the Rev. Tommy Speight, will be on Tuesday, January 18th, at 11:00 a.m., at Riverside Cemetery in Courtland, followed by a reception at the Courtland Baptist Church. Memorial donations may be made to the Courtland Baptist Church Building Fund, P. O. Box 148, Courtland, VA. 23837.