Edith 'Edie' Oliff Vanover, age 40 of Nokesville, Virginia died Monday, December 30, 2002 at Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church. Mrs. Vanover was a longtime resident of Prince William County and a member of New Life Community Church, Manassas where she was a team leader in Sunday School. She was employed with Northern Virginia Family Services as a senior family support worker. She was preceded in death by her parents, Donald Clayton Oliff, Sr., and Gwendolyn Marie Anderson Oliff. Survivors include her husband of 20 years, Randall Eric Vanover, two daughters, Maghan M. Vanover and Courtney E. Vanover, one son, Randall 'Eric' Vanover, Jr. all of the home, two sisters, JoDale O. Tornatore, of Amissville and Cindy Oliff Mosier, of Bristow, one brother, Clay Oliff, Jr. , of Wardensville, West Virginia, nieces and nephews, her mother-in-law and father-in-law, Lila and Royce Vanover, of Goldvein. The family will receive friends from 6:00-9:00 P.M. Friday, January 3, 2003 at Price Funeral Home, 9609 Center Street, Manassas. Funeral services will be held 11:00 A.M. Saturday, January 4, 2003 at Westover Baptist Church, 10301 Sudley Manor Drive, Manassas with Rev. Steve Dawson officiating. Interment will follow at Stonewall Memory Gardens, Manassas.

Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to the Edie Vanover Children¹s Educational Trust Fund, c/o Sun Trust Bank, 7915 Sudley Rd., Manassas, VA 20109 in memory of Edith Oliff Vanover.

Condolences may be sent to www.pricefh.com.
Published in the Potomac News and Manassas Journal Messenger on 1/2/2003.

Fauquier Times Democrat

By Tara Slate Donaldson January 10, 2003

Edith Oliff Vanover, a popular social worker and mother of three, was killed Dec. 30 in a crash on Route 28.
Known to her friends and family as "Edie," Vanover was the wife of Randall Eric Vanover and the mother of Randall "Eric" Jr., Maghan and Courtney Vanover. The family lives on Free Street in Nokesville. Vanover died less than a week after her 20th wedding anniversary, said Randall's brother, Rick Vanover. "She was more than a sister-in-law, she became a real sister," he said Tuesday. "She was a friend and someone who could always be counted on to do her very best." Vanover, 40, was a Sunday school team leader at New Life Community Church in Manassas and worked at Northern Virginia Family Services as a senior family support worker. "Edie was a highly competent, funny, supportive and non-judgmental person who dependably gave of her talents and energies," said Gretchen Almstead, supervisor for the Prince William Area Healthy Families program. "What appeared to others as effortless talent at home visiting was a result of her continual openness to learning, and striving towards self and program improvement." Vanover worked at NVFS since January 1999. Her 2002 job evaluation states that "she is a vocal member of the team, a strong and effective leader who uses positive influence to work towards improvement and creative solutions. She is always alert to opportunities to improve herself, her work and the program." Vanover was known for her personal touch and close relationships with the families she served. After her death, a coworker e-mailed Almstead to share a story about accompanying Vanover on a visit to a family she had been working with. "The mother could not say enough about how much Edie had helped her family--how Edie had become like a member of the family," the e-mail states. "She told me that she didn't believe any of her successes would have been possible without Edie's support and encouragement." Throughout the community, the words "love," "compassion" and "caring" are used to describe Vanover. According to Rick Vanover, on the day she died, she was on her way to work. Although it was her day off, she was called into the office because she was needed. "She lost her life on her way to serve others," he said, describing her as someone who was a "devoted and compassionate servant of those less fortunate." According to 1st Sgt. Kim Chinn, a spokeswoman for the Prince William Police Department, Vanover was heading north on Route 28 around 9:24 a.m. when she lost control of her car at the bridge over Broad Run. Her Jeep Wrangler slid into the southbound lane, colliding with a pickup truck driven by 76-year-old Samuel Warring of Coles Drive in Manassas. Vanover, Warring and his passenger, 47-year-old Karen Warring of the same address, were flown to Fairfax Inova Hospital, where Vanover died later in the day. As of Jan. 3, Karen Warring's condition had been upgraded to serious but Samuel Warring remained in critical condition. Vanover was preceded in death by her parents, Donald Clayton Oliff, Sr. and Gwendolyn Marie Anderson Oliff. Along with her husband and children, she is survived by two sisters, JoDale O. Tornatore, of Amissville, Va. and Cindy Oliff Mosier, of Bristow, and one brother, Clay Oliff, Jr., of Wardensville, W.Va. Also surviving are nieces, nephews and her mother-in-law and father-in-law, Lila and Royce Vanover, of Goldvein, Va. The family received friends at Price Funeral Home in Manassas on Friday, Jan. 3. Funeral services were held Saturday, Jan. 4, at Westover Baptist Church in Manassas with the Rev. Steve Dawson officiating. Vanover was buried at Stonewall Memory Gardens in Manassas. A trust fund has been established to pay for her children's education. Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to the Edie Vanover Children's Educational Trust Fund, c/o Sun Trust Bank, 7915 Sudley Rd., Manassas, VA 20109 in memory of Edie Oliff Vanover.

©Arcom Publishing Inc. - Times Community Newspapers 2003