Ms. Laverne Barrow

November 9, 1932 - January 16, 2021

CLAXTON: Laverne Barrow, 88, died peacefully at home on Saturday, January 16, 2021, under the care of Ogeechee Area Hospice. Laverne grew up in Gooseneck, but lived in Claxton most of her life. As a girl she played basketball for her school, watched Saturday movies at the Tos Theater and worked with her father in the tobacco and cotton fields. She married Billy when she was 14 years old, and together they raised six children and helped build the Claxton location of the Church of God of Prophecy. She worked in the Claxton clothing factory for many years, and later went to beauty school and opened her own beauty shop. She loved taking Florida vacations and riding roller coasters at Busch Gardens. She was a skilled fisherman and, in the opinion of her family, a professional pie and cake baker. She loved to eat ice cream and to take shopping trips at local thrift stores. Most of all, she enjoyed spending time outside working in her yard. Her husband said she could “dig up concrete with a rubber hammer.” She could make anything grow. She cherished her flowers, blueberry bushes and grapevines. Nothing made her happier than to see her fruit trees bloom. As one of the founding members of the Claxton Church of God of Prophecy (Liberty Fellowship), Laverne served as a choir director, song leader and Sunday school teacher for many years. She read her Bible every day, completing it in its entirety 260 times. Even though she read her Bible many times she said she found something new “every single time.” She loved the Lord with all her heart, and she was never shy about sharing the gospel with everyone she met. When asked if she could leave her family with one piece of advice she simply said “Serve God.” She is preceded in death by her husband Billy Barrow, her parents Tom and Pearl Sikes and sisters Delores Barrow and Sadie Deloach. She is survived by her five children: Theron (Barbara) Deloach of Shellmans Bluff, David (Sandra) Barrow of Claxton, Lynette (Mike) Rowe of Townsend, Janie (James) Thompson of Claxton and Faye McCord (Wendell Knight) of Claxton, 13 grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren. VISITATION: Monday, January 18, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. at Church of God of Prophecy. SOCIAL DISTANCING WILL BE OBSERVED DURING THE VISITATION AND SERVICE, DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. MASKS MUST BE WORN. FUNERAL: Monday, January 18, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. at Church of God of Prophecy. BURIAL: Brewton Cemetery REMEMBRANCE: Church of God of Prophecy, c/o Shirley Anderson, P.O. Box 151, Daisy, Ga. 30423 or Ogeechee Area Hospice, 200 Donehoo Street, Statesboro, Ga. 30458 Mellie NeSmith Funeral Home in charge of arrangements “Our Family Serving Your Family” “Since 1917” (912) 739-3338 www.nesmithfuneralhome.com