LARKINBURG – Viola Jean Perdue Pierson, 72, of Larkinburg, Kansas, died Thursday, February 26, 2009, at Midland Hospice House in Topeka. She returned home to be with the Lord after a courageous two year battle with breast cancer.

She was born on March 15, 1936, in Woodsville, New Hampshire, the daughter of Edward and Geneva Pittman Perdue. She attended elementary school in Huron, Kansas and graduated from the Bradford Academy in Bradford, Vermont in 1954.

Viola was a former member of the East Corinth Congregational Church in East Corinth, Vermont, where she also taught Sunday School.

She married Bruce A. Pierson on March 3, 1955, in East Corinth. He survives at the family home in Larkinburg.

Viola was preceded in death by her parents; a sister, Dorothy Sweet; and a brother, Charles "Jerry" Perdue.

Other survivors include one son, Bret Pierson of Kansas City, Missouri; two daughters, Sherree Johnson and her husband Jay of Ozark, Missouri, and Shawn Bruns and her husband David of Topeka, Kansas; a brother, Edward Perdue of Inverness, Florida; a sister, Janice Embry, of Brookings, South Dakota; and four grandchildren, Crystal Johnson, Adam Johnson, Nathanael Bruns and Elise Bruns.

Viola was a beautiful and dedicated Christian wife, mother and homemaker. She was known for her loving devotion to her family and for her unselfishness. She taught her children to walk with God and to display strong moral values.

Cremation is planned. A Memorial Service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 4, 2009, at the Chapel Oaks Funeral Home in Holton. Burial will immediately follow at the Miller Cemetery in Everest, Kansas. Memorial gifts are suggested to the Midland Hospice House, and may be sent in care of the funeral home, P.O. Box 1034, Holton, Kansas 66436.