Velva Marie Johnson Howard, age 76, of Greenbend Road, Morehead, Kentucky passed away Saturday, December 1, 2007, at the Life Care Center in Morehead after a long illness. She was born December 6, 1930, on Greenbend Road in Rowan County, Kentucky, to the late Arthur Dillard Johnson, Sr., and Frances Gertrude Robbins Johnson. She was raised in a Christian home along with her seven brothers and one sister. She was preceded in death by four brothers, Marcus Ray Johnson, Morris Keith Johnson, Frances Elwood Johnson, and Jack Lowell Johnson. On December 29, 1949, she married Vernon Byron Howard, who passed away September 23, 1977. She is survived by four children: Betty Carolyn Watkins (Johnny), Larry Douglas Howard (Zourdah), Donna Diane Sorrell (Ronnie), and Jeffrey Phillip Howard (Connie), all of Greenbend Road in Morehead; eight grandsons: John Kevin Watkins (Tammy), Christopher Lane Sorrell, Travis Scott Sorrell, Nicholas Byron Sorrell, Dustin Cody Sorrell, Larry Douglas Howard II, Benjamin Phillip Howard, and Tyler Keith Howard; and four granddaughters: Melanie Dawn Perkins (Ronnie), Jennifer Robin McMillan Thacker (Douglas), Hope Liane Lykins (Jeffrey), and Tammy Renee Hatfield (Brad). Other survivors include five great grandsons and four great granddaughters: Jonathan Kyle Watkins, Jasmin Brooke McMillan, Hayle Marie Lykins, Michael Dylan Chase Thacker, Roy Douglas Thacker, Jr., Bethany Suzanne Thacker, Abigail Michelle Perkins, Gabriel Allen Perkins, and Justin Kole Watkins. Other survivors include one sister, Josephine Ruth Johnson Staton of Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, and three brothers, Nicola Tessla Johnson of Dayton, Ohio, Laban Franklin Johnson of West Elkton, Ohio, and Arthur Dillard Johnson, Jr. of Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, along with many nieces and nephews. Marie was an avid gardener and loved to share her many special flowers with friends and family. Her God was first in her life and her family meant everything to her, as well as her many dear friends. She was a Hospice volunteer and crocheted angels and cross bookmarks for their families. She worked 13 years at St. Claire Regional Medical Center and was head of the S.P.D. Department for the last three years of her work. She was a Christian and a member of Slaty Point Missionary Baptist Church. She will be sadly missed by all who knew her. Funeral services will be conducted 1 p.m. Tuesday, December 4, 2007, at Northcutt & Son Home for Funerals Memorial Chapel with the Rev. Harley Sexton, Jr. officiating. Burial will follow in the Slaty Point Cemetery. Grandsons will serve as pallbearers. Visitation is after 5 p.m. Monday, December 3, 2007, at Northcutt & Son Home for Funerals. Visitation: Monday, December 3, 2007, after 5 p.m. Funeral: Tuesday, December 4, 2007, at 1 p.m. Interment: Slaty Point Cemetery