Birdie Elizabeth Anderson

Carbondale - Birdie Elizabeth Anderson went to her heavenly home on Sunday, June 22, 2014. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 28, 2014 at St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church in Carbondale, IL, with Father Joseph Brown, SJ officiating. Visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m. till 11:00 a.m. on Saturday at the church. Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, 4501 W Deyoung St, Marion, Illinois 62959, and will be accepted by Meredith Funeral Home of Carbondale, IL. Birdie, named for her maternal grandmother, was born January 30, 1943, on a small farm in Lyon County, KY. She was the second of five children born to Hiram and Leah (Steele) Hayes. She married Ralph Anderson on September 2, 1969. They were married for 29 years before Ralph's death in 1999. Ralph was committed to interfaith issues and not only founded but was also a contributor to the Interfaith Dialogue (Jewish-Christians-Muslins Conversations) in Carbondale. Birdie regularly attended meetings before and after Ralph's death. Birdie is survived by her sister, Frances (Tom) Vaughn of Buckley, IL; her brother, Bobby (Pat) Hayes of Hopkinsville, KY; her sister, Margaret (Bill) Hezlep of Marion, IL; her sisters-in-law, Barbara Hayes of Hardinsburg, KY, Eunice (Wayne) Beavers of Caldwell County, KY. She is also survived by six nieces, three nephews, four great-nieces, and four great-nephews. She grew up in Kuttawa, KY and attended a one-room school house for 2 �_ years. She graduated from Lyon County High School in the class of 1960. She also graduated from Murray State University, Murray, KY with a B.S. in home economics in 1964. Birdie was an educator having taught in Illinois, Florida and Missouri. She also worked in the shoe department at Walmart in Carbondale for twenty years. She was an accomplished seamstress, bobbin lace maker, knitter and crocheter. She loved doing crafts and enjoyed teaching others the skills that she possessed. She kept her hands busy doing something as she sat watching TV, listening to books on tape, or visiting with friends. She touched many lives along the way while actively participating in four craft organizations. Fiber Artists, which met every Wednesday at St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church in Carbondale, IL, where she was a member; Heartland Lace Guild which met every second Friday of the month at Grace Episcopal Church in Paducah, KY; Ozark Footheel Spinners, which met yearly in Moar, MO, where she was a member for over 40 years; and the Shawnee Weavers, which met the third Sunday of every month in Carbondale, IL. Birdie was an active member of her community volunteering at the annual Women's United Hunger Sale in Carbondale, IL and serving as an election judge in Jackson County, IL. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, one brother and one niece.



Service:



11:00 a.m. Saturday, June 28, 2014



St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church Carbondale, Illinois







Visitation:



9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Saturday, June 28, 2014



St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church Carbondale, Illinois