Dolle Needham

Memorial services for Evor (Dolle) E. Needham, 86, of Hobbs will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, August 3 at Griffin Funeral Home with Pastor Jay Jones, officiating. Dolle passed away at her home in Hobbs July 27, 2015 surrounded by family.

She was born in Lamar, CO October 27, 1928 and was the oldest child of Henry and Pearl Kern. Her two sisters, Virginia (Ginger) and Janet (Jackie) along with two younger brothers, John and Jim, lived on a farm near McClave, CO. Her grandparents homesteaded in eastern Colorado near Burlington and lived in a "soddie" (dugout) in the 1880's, eventually making their permanent home near Wiley, CO.

Dolle was a graduate of McClave High School and attended Barnes Business College in Denver. She and Robert (Bob) Needham were married in Lamar, CO March 18, 1951. Bob passed away December 27, 2014 in Hobbs. Their son Glen, and daughter, Nancy, were born in Lamar; daughter Pamela in Lakin, KS. Bob worked for Colorado Interstate Gas Company and the couple moved to Beaver, OK in 1956 where they raised their family and lived for some 50 years before moving to Hobbs in 2006 to be near Nancy.

In Beaver, Dolle became the first woman to head the Beaver County Chamber of Commerce. She worked at the Beaver County Memorial Hospital, the elementary school, and the veterinarian clinic and was active in the Beaver United Methodist Church, Rebecca Women's Circle, Red Hat Society, and the V.F.W. Auxiliary.

In Hobbs, Dolle participated in classes at the Del Norte Spa, attended Young at Hearts, St. Paul's United Methodist Church, and enjoyed accompanying Nancy to her art receptions.

Dolle loved her family deeply and was always busy helping others in the community in which she lived. She enjoyed sewing, tole painting, cooking, making sand-plum jelly, fishing, travel, playing cards with friends, and meeting new people. She was superbly organized and was known for getting things done well and in a hurry.

Preceding her in death are: husband, Robert L. Needham; parents, Henry and Pearl Kern; sister "Ginger" McClain, and "Jackie" Pivonka. Surviving family: son, Glen (Karla) Needham, Sunbury OH; daughter Nancy (Paul) Powell, Hobbs, NM; daughter Pamela Needham, Las Cruces, NM; brothers: John (Joanne) Kern, Washougal, WA; Jim (Sheila) Kern, Seattle, WA; grandchildren: Ellen Powell, Midland, TX, Kathleen (Nicholas) Laumann, John Needham, and Elizabeth Needham, Columbus OH.

The family wishes to extend a special thanks to Pastor Jay Jones for his kindness during Dolle's illness and the Young at Hearts for providing lunch. Donations in memory of Dolle may be made to Gentiva Hospice, 1515 West Calle Sur St., Suite 129, Hobbs, NM 88240.

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