Anna (Oswald) Yocum, 76, passed away from COVID on Aug. 14, 2021, with her husband and oldest son by her side in Jacksonville, Florida.

Grieving her passing is her husband of 56 years, John Yocum; her father Burton Hart; her son John Yocum II and  wife Claire (Durbin) Yocum of Tanzania, Africa; her son James Yocum and wife Valerie (Harrell) Yocum of Jacksonville, Fla.; her son Jeremy Yocum and fiancee Alexandra Pharmakidis of New York, N.Y.; granddaughter Stephanie (Yocum) Miles; grandson Jacob Yocum; grandson Zachary Yocum; granddaughter Celia Yocum; great-granddaughters, Holly Miles and Lilly Miles; and dozens of nieces, nephews, extended family, and friends.

She was preceded in death by her father Harold Oswald and mother Velma (Haddock) Oswald; brother Charles Oswald; brother Steven Oswald; brother Reuben Ransom Oswald; and sister Mary Elva Oswald Hart.

A dedicated wife, Anna married the love of her life, John, on Oct. 18, 1964. They wed in Sharon Baptist Church, where they met earlier that year while he was serving in the U.S. Air Force at McConnell Air Force Base. The base was also where their first son John II was later born. They moved to John's home state of Illinois, where she gave birth to her second son James and worked part time while John completed his bachelor's degree and began a new career with IBM. IBM transferred the family in 1970 to Wichita, Kan., where their third son Jeremy was born. In 1986, they moved to Dallas, Texas. They lived in Dallas until August 2012, when they moved to Purcellville, Va., to be closer their two sons living on the East Coast. In 2018, Anna and John left Virginia for Jacksonville, Fla., where she and John lived until her passing.

A devout Christian woman, Anna devoted her life to service to the Lord and her church family. She and John were active members in churches everywhere the lived, including:

• Sharon Baptist Church - Wichita, Kan.
• Meadow Heights Baptist Church - Collinsville, Ill.
• Tyler Road Baptist Church - Wichita, Kan.
• First Baptist Church of Carrollton - Carrollton, Texas
• Parkway Hills Baptist Church - Plano, Texas
• First Baptist Church - Dallas Texas
• Leesburg Baptist Church - Leesburg, Virginia
• Deermeadows Baptist Church - Jacksonville, Fla.

Anna showed her love of children through decades of service teaching Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. She also served her community by teaching English as a Second Language classes to new immigrants and sharing her love of God and country with all who wanted to hear her testimony.

A memorial service is scheduled for Aug. 28 at 1 p.m. at Leesburg Community Church, 835 Lee Avenue SW, Leesburg, VA 20175. Plans for streaming that service are being worked and will be shared on this page if it is possible to do so. Guests who cannot attend are asked to leave their thoughts and memories of Anna on this website.

In lieu of flowers, those who wish to honor Anna's memory are asked to consider a donation to Tree of Life ministries in Purcellville, Va.  Tree of life provides food, clothes, and English as a Second Language classes to homeless families, and donations can be made by visiting https://www.tolministries.org/