Edna Tucker Perdue died at the age of 94 at the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community in Harrisonburg, where she had been a resident since 2013.

Born on August 7, 1922 in Victoria, she was the youngest of 10 children born to Mary Lou Tucker and her husband John Tucker. She edged out her sister Louise to be named Miss Victoria at age 16, reportedly aided by a talent for flirting. She attended Mary Washington College for two years, earning a degree in business. Records from the college confirm that she was an active participant in various dances. In 1943 she married Z.T. Perdue, Jr., a marriage of 71 years, which ended with his death in Nov. 2013. Their only surviving child, Zack, was born in 1954. After spending the first years of the marriage in her husband’s hometown of Rocky Mt., they moved to Crewe, living there until declining health forced them to move nearer their son. Most of her years in Crewe were spent helping ZT run the Grove Drive-In Cinema, and doing the bookkeeping for his various other business ventures. They were socially very active, attending and hosting dance parties, becoming involved in state and local Republican politics, and supporting the Pryor Memorial Presbyterian Church. She was an avid and excellent cook leaving a legacy of hundreds of recipes. Living in the years before home computing, she kept enormous numbers of birthdays, phone numbers, and other personal facts in her head.  She was perennially cheerful, with a smile that did not fade, even as her mind did. She had the knack of making everyone, even strangers, wish to help her. She was even more willing to help others, cooking up mountains of food over the years for those in the community who had suffered loss or illness.

She is survived by her son, Zack T. Perdue III, and wife, Judy, of Harrisonburg; two grandchildren, Katherine and Michael Perdue.

There will be a graveside service at 11 a.m., Saturday, May 27, 2017, at the Lakeview Cemetery in Victoria. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Pryor Memorial Presbyterian Church, 115E. Tennessee Ave., Crewe, VA 32930. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.browningduffer.com.

Browning Funeral Home is serving the family.