Mildred L Vanderpool

Mildred L. Vanderpool, a longtime resident of Monroe, died peacefully at her home on April 12, 2016. Born in New York City on July 9, 1920, Mildred created a life rich not only in years but also in love given and received. All who knew her will remember vividly her indomitable spirit and unwavering commitment to her family and to her community.A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Connecticut College for Women, Mildred was working in New York when Pearl Harbor was bombed and, as she recalled, the spirit of patriotism was so palpable that she ultimately joined the US Navy’s Women’s Auxiliary Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). After Officer’s Training at Smith College, she requested duty in New Orleans, evincing an exploratory spirit that was never to wane. Auspiciously, her subsequent request for transfer to Hawaii had not yet been granted when she met her future husband, Robert Lee Vanderpool, Jr., who had recently returned from service in the Pacific. They married in New York and embarked on life together in a garage apartment in Dickinson, Texas, where Lee began his career in banking and Mildred proved yet again her incredible adaptability.In 1950, they moved to Monroe, a city which they were to embrace for the rest of their lives. Lee soon became the President of Ouachita National Bank, and Mildred became his professional as well as personal partner. With the consummate grace of a converted Southerner, she served the community in multiple ways for multiple years. An officer in the Junior League of Monroe and subsequently in the Sustainers, Mildred was also a founding member of the Monroe Garden Study League and member of the Monroe Garden Club; The Investment Club; and, memorably, THE Bridge Club, a source of beautiful friendships over the course of fifty years.Mildred was preceded in death by her husband of fifty-five years, her parents, and her brother. She is survived by her daughter Janet Haedicke and husband, Steve, and son Lee Vanderpool III and wife, Bernadette. Also left to treasure her memory are seven grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, three nieces, and loving companion Ferrial Willis. All of us feel honored to have been bequeathed a legacy of intellect, of strength, and of compassion from such an extraordinary woman.Services will be held at Grace Episcopal Church of which she was long a devoted member with Visitation from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Friday, April 15, 2016, in Kilbourne Hall and the funeral at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 16,2016, in the sanctuary. Serving as pallbearers will be Stephen Haedicke, Lee Vanderpool, Derek Vanderpool, Damien Vanderpool, Bill Peltier, Ferrial Willis, Kenn Farrar, and Kirt Touchstone. Honorary pallbearers are Cory Bahr, Oscar Barnes, Dr. David Barnes, Hank Biedenharn, Murray Biedenharn, Gary Booth, George Cannon, Austin Daugherty, Melvin Goldman, Harvey Hales, Bishop Johnston, and Steve Swander.The family gratefully requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to ARCO or to The Center for Children and Families.