Clella Laverne Tompkins, 96, was better known by friends and family as Jeri. She was born April 29, 1924, in Lebanon, Missouri, to Isaac and Nannie Blackman.
She was preceded in death by her husband Hurshel, along with five brothers and one sister. She is survived by her three children, Janice Moldrem (husband Jerry), Gordon (wife Connie) and Cathy Clark, all of Springfield, along with six grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.
She lived in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, until 1942, when she moved to Stockton, California, where she later worked in a defense plant during the war. She met our father Hurshel Tompkins, when he was stationed there in the Army. That’s where she got her nickname Jeri, from our father. She will be laid to rest alongside our father at West Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, in Eugene. Her service was on Thursday, June 25th, followed by a viewing and a gravesite service.
