In Memory

Pearl Steppe (Barbour) - Class Of 1970

Pearl Frances Steppe Barbour, 72, of Crozet, Virginia, left her earthly home and entered her eternal residency on Sunday, June 4, 2023.

Mrs. Barbour was born on December 22, 1950, in Browns' Cove, Virginia, to the late Wilbert Melton Steppe, Sr. and Edith Frances (Jackson) Steppe of Crozet, Virginia.

A brother, Wilbert Melton Steppe, Jr. and wife, Sarah; three brothers-in-law, James "Rodney" Braxton, Arnold Jackson, and William Barbour, Sr. preceded her in death.

She gave her life to Christ at an early age, joining Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Browns' Cove, Virginia where she sang in the youth choir, senior choir, and was leader of the youth ushers. Later, she became a charter member of Jerusalem Baptist Church, in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she sang with that choir as well.

She was educated in Albemarle County, starting at the segregated Crozet Elementary School, then onto Virginia L. Murray Elementary, in Ivy, Virginia, next on to Jackson P. Burley High School, in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she was a varsity cheerleader "Bears". When integration came, she graduated from Albemarle High School, in Charlottesville, Virginia. She continued her education at Piedmont Virginia Community College.

Pearl began her employment while in high school at the University of Virginia Medical Center. She went onto Morton Frozen Foods, Crozet, Virginia, and then to Acme Visible Records, Crozet, Virginia in the Pockets Department. She served as labor union secretary and later became the first female supervisor in the plant. She later did almost ten years in retail at Cardinals Uniform, Charlottesville, Virginia and then retired from Xerox Corporation at Sperry Marine of Northrop Grumman, Charlottesville, Virginia.

She was an excellent cook, baker, seamstress, and there are a great number of kids young and old who are enjoying 'comforters crocheted by Pearl".

She leaves to love and cherish her memory, her husband and best friend, Roosevelt Wheeler Barbour, Jr.; daughters, Edith Barbour-Hughes (Terrance), Rosetta "Lisa" Opie (Robert), and Charis Barbour; four sisters, Georgie Barbour, Charlotte Dooms (Wilson), Jackie Martin, and Annette Jackson: four brothers, Earl Steppe, Gary Steppe, Timothy Steppe, and Reginald Steppe; sister-in law, Janet Earl; five grandchildren, Mu Tasim, Dejah, Na Sib, Cyenna, and Xaviera; one aunt, Lelia Payne; and one special cousin, Anthony Steppe, Jr. Also surviving are nine nieces, 11 nephews, many cousins and friends.

Graveside services will be held on Thursday, June 8, 2023, at 2 p.m. at Mt Olivet Baptist Church Cemetery, Whitehall, Virginia. The Eulogy will be delivered by Reverend Doyle Thomas, Jr.

The family would like to thank Encompass Health, the Hospice of the Piedmont, and UVA Health with Dr. Mutter, Dr. Becker, and Dr. Dobson and their staff.

Arrangements by J. F. Bell Funeral Home Inc. Condolences may be expressed to the family via the guestbook at www.jfbellfuneralservices.com.

Submitted by Sam Clarke and Allen Carver.

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