Obituary of Ernestine Lorraine McSween Perdue

Mrs. Perdue was born on June 10, 1918 in Eufaula, Alabama. She was the daughter of James Malcolm McSween and Bertie Lee Stephens McSween. Mrs. Perdue resided about 60 years of her life in Newton where she graduated from Newton High School and was a member of Newton Baptist Church. She worked at Fort Rucker during World War II as a dental technician and in the late 1940's in the State of Alabama Governor's Office and the State of Alabama Health Department. During her brief residence in Montgomery during the late 1940's she met and married her late husband, Joseph Herman Perdue, Jr. Joe was the son of Joseph Herman Perdue and Janie Levette Tillery of West Oakland Avenue, Montgomery. Joe, a former Marine, worked for the Montgomery Fire Department and as a medical technician with the Veterans Administration. Mr. and Mrs. Perdue had one son, James Herman Perdue, who was born on November 14, 1947. Mrs. Perdue's husband was killed in a traffic accident while on duty on July 15th, 1949, and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1950 Mrs. Perdue returned to Newton, Alabama to be near her parents. Mrs. Perdue lived most of her life on the McSween family farm near the Five Points community, where she raised her son, James Herman. She had an extensive network of family and friends. She never met a stranger, each person was family to her. She was an active volunteer in the communities of Newton, Montgomery, and Ozark, where she was an avid supporter of her son at Carroll High School. She most recently lived with her son and his wife in Etowah, North Carolina, and in Dandridge, Tennessee, respectively. Service Information