- Date Of Birth: June 15, 1928
- Date Of Death: June 28, 2017
- State: Illinois
Neva F. McKula, 89, of Jacksonville, IL died Wednesday, June 28, 2017, at Heritage Health in Jacksonville.
She was born June 15, 1928, in Casey, the daughter of Herman and Bertha Warner Bower. She married 2nd Lt. Thomas J. McKula on September 29, 1956, at Base Chapel Eglin Air Force Base and he survives.
She is also survived by a daughter, Sue (Bob) McSherry of Hanover Park; two sons, T.J. (Melanie) McKula of Great Falls, VA, and Tim McKula of Chicago; and six grandchildren, Betsy (Adam) Wright of Urbana, Emilie McSherry of Hanover Park, Trey McKula and Lindsey McKula, both of Great Falls, VA, and Ava McKula and Spencer McKula, both of Chicago. She was preceded in death by two sisters, Mary Bower and Freda Clark; and one brother, Victor Bower.
Mrs. McKula was a 1946 graduate of Casey Township High School and a 1949 graduate of Indiana University Training School of Nursing in Indianapolis. She worked as a registered nurse in Denver, CO, before joining the U.S. Air Force in 1954. She was commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant stationed at Eglin AFB in Ft. Walton Beach, FL, earning her Flight Nurse’s Wings in 1956. She was discharged in January, 1957. She then joined her husband at Albrook AFB in the Panama Canal Zone, where she worked at Gorgas Hospital as an R.N. Upon returning to the U.S., Neva continued her nursing career in Columbus, OH, Pittsburgh, PA, Cincinnati, OH, and Milwaukee, WI, before moving her family to Jacksonville in 1971. In 1975, she began working for the VNA of Morgan and Scott Counties until her retirement in 1997.
Neva was an active member of Church of Our Saviour, the Women’s Memorial in Washington D.C., and Passavant Hospital Auxiliary. She was an avid reader and lover of nature, especially birds. She was happiest when surrounded by her family, especially her grandchildren.
