Merle Luke Sheffield, 63, wife of Roy W. Sheffield, passed away Wednesday, November 11, 2004 at John Randolph Medical Center, Hopewell. Her family was at her side. Born June 15, 1941 she was the daughter of the late James Sherman Luke and Carrie Carr Luke. Merle was a homemaker and former member of Waverly Baptist Church.

Besides her husband, she is survived by her three daughters, Ellen Pope Smith and Jennifer S. Jenkins, both of Waverly, and Rita Pope McPherson of Edenton, NC; two sons, Dale Pope of Tyner, NC, and Sherman Pope of Waverly; two sisters, Margaret Ellen Birkner of Erie, PA, and Marion Jones of Suffolk; fourteen grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, November 13, 2004 at 2 p.m. in the chapel of Purviance Funeral Home, Wakefield, with the Rev. Lewis Lawson officiating.

Burial will follow in Western Branch Baptist Church Cemetery, Suffolk.

The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Friday evening, 7 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Purviance Funeral Home, Wakefield, assisted the family with arrangements.