Verba Lee Shoemaker

Verba Lee Shoemaker, daughter of the late Joseph Pinkey Kennedy and Dadie (London) Kennedy, was born on October 25, 1926, in Messler, Missouri, and passed away on March 11, 2026, at her home in Perkins, Missouri, at the age of 99.

She worked for 22 years at the Inland Shoe Factory in Advance, Missouri, and was a longtime member of the Perkins Baptist Church. On July 10, 1948, she married James T. Shoemaker in Pocahontas, Arkansas. He preceded her in death on July 18, 2000.

Verba is survived by three sons, Steve (Cindy) Shoemaker and Rocky Shoemaker, both of Oran, and Kenneth Shoemaker of Advance; two daughters, Darlene (Phil) Thompson of Allenville and Carla (Clyde) Curtis of Morley; one daughter-in-law, Vicky Shoemaker of Jackson; one son-in-law, Gerald Sebastian of Allenville; one brother, Lendell Kennedy of Edwardsburg, Michigan; twenty-two grandchildren, forty-two great-grandchildren, and thirteen great-great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, one daughter, Brenda Sebastian; one son, David Shoemaker; three grandsons, Baby Donald Williams Jr., Donnie Williams, and Stevie Shoemaker; three sisters, Frieda Hicks, Pauline Bumgardaner, and Ina Mae Faulconer; one brother, Clifford Kennedy; and one daughter-in-law, Carolyn Shoemaker.