Viola Travis

January 3, 2007

Funeral services for Viola Travis, 90, formerly of Jefferson and Cooper, Iowa, will be 11:00 am Tuesday January 9, 2007 at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Jefferson, with burial in the Franklin Township Cemetery, Cooper, Iowa. Visitation with the family will be prior to the funeral service starting at 9:00 am at the church. Viola Belle Travis, daughter of George Elmer and Martha Van Cleave Love, was born on November 20, 1916 in Adel, Iowa. She grew up in the Redfield area between Redfield and Adel. Upon graduation from Redfield High School, she moved to Des Moines and was employed by the National Biscuit Company. It was during this time that she met Woodrow Wilson. Viola married Woodrow Wilson on November 23, 1935 at Adel, Iowa. Due to the fact that Woodrow was a hired farm hand, the couple lived in Ankeny, Dallas Center and several other locations. In 1945, moved to the Perry area and farmed there for several years. After moving into Perry in 1959, Viola was employed by the Perry Lutheran home as a Nurses Aid. Then came a move to Wyoming and then Kansas where she was employed as a house mother in a dormitory. After moving back to Earlham, Iowa, she worked as a clerk in Des Moines. On March 4, 1969, Viola married John Travis and they made their home on a farm south of Cooper, Iowa. In 1982, the couple moved into Jefferson. John Travis died in 1984 and Viola moved to Virginia in 1988. Viola was a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Jefferson and was active in many church activities. She was a past member of the Church of the Brethren in Beaver, Iowa. Viola Travis died January 3, 2007 at Skyline Terrace Nursing Home in Woodstock, Virginia. She was 90 years of age. Preceding her in death were her parents; her husbands, Woodrow Wilson and John Travis and 3 brothers. Survivors include 2 sons Jerrald Wilson of Mount Jackson, Virginia and Leslie Wilson of Orrville, Ohio; 2 sisters, Fern Clarke of Chariton, Iowa and June Clark of Hardin, Montana; 3 grandchildren; several step-grandchildren and step-great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews.