Cobb, Ann Seward

WAKEFIELD, VA
Ann Seward Beale Cobb, 80, a resident of Wakefield, died Thursday, September 6, 2007, at Waverly Healthcare Center in Waverly, VA. Born on December 27, 1926, in Surry County, she was the daughter of the late Henry Elton Seward and Lelia Ellis Seward. As a child, Ann and her family attended Surry Baptist Church. She graduated from Surry High School. During World War II, she drove a school bus for Surry County schools. Near the end of the war, she married Robert Lee “Dick” Beale in August 1945. Ann and Dick established a rural farming family at Owens Grove Farm between Waverly and Wakefield, where the family farmed together and they raised a family of four children. Dick died in October 1964, after a long illness. Ann was a woman of great tenacity and tireless spirit, perhaps best illustrated by her founding of Ann’s Dress Shoppe 30 years ago. Anyone who met Ann knew right away that she had spunk (a word her mother liked to use). What they may not have appreciated is the depth of her courage. Thrust into the role of breadwinner by the untimely loss of her husband, Ann had confronted adversity by going to work for Miller & Rhodes in Petersburg, where she had learned the ins and outs of the retail clothing business. In 1972, she married R. Myrick Cobb, Jr. In August 1977, Ann opened her small ladies’ clothing store in Wakefield, Ann’s Dress Shoppe, overcoming the considerable challenges women face in the business world. Ann “started with nothing,” as she would later reflect, and gradually built a successful small business. She drew upon her life experiences—knowledge of sewing gained as a homemaker, business acumen, and bookkeeping skills used on the family farm, and years in retailing—to create goodness and prosperity. Where some may have despaired, her determination and perseverance revealed her underlying trust in the ultimate goodness of God. Today, her legacy continues as Ann’s Dress Shoppe, LLC, is operated successfully by her daughter, Robin Scarborough.

Ann is survived by her husband, R. Myrick Cobb, Jr.; a son, R. L. “Dicky” Beale, Jr., and wife Betty of Wakefield; three daughters, Carol Ann Pond of Petersburg, Brenda Pope and husband Leverette of Waverly, and Robin Scarborough and husband Todd of Surry County; a sister Virginia “Bunky” Thacker and her husband Raymond of Smithfield; 12 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren. Ann was preceded in death by her husband Robert Lee “Dick” Beale; a sister, Mary Lee Brittle; and brothers Baxter, Henry, and Roy Seward.

A funeral service will be held at the Wakefield Methodist Church on Sunday, September 9, 2007, at 1:30 p.m. with the Reverend Connie Gibbs officiating. The family will be at the residence in Wakefield, 104 Pinecrest Street, Wakefield, to receive family and friends. Memorial donations may be made to the Waverly Volunteer Rescue Squad, Ivor Volunteer Rescue Squad, or the Wakefield United Methodist Church. Purviance Funeral Home, Wakefield, is handling the arrangements. Condolences may be posted at our web site at www.jtmorriss.com.