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PETURA -- Vivian Spruill Petura, 90, died Thursday February 9, 2006 in Rio Rancho. Vivian was born July 26, 1915 in Washington, NC the ninth child of Louis Henry and Lucy Whichard Spruill. She graduated from Washington High School in 1933 after which she worked for General Electric for several years in New Jersey and New York before meeting her future husband and life partner of 64 years. She married Frank Ensign "Pete" Petura August 7, 1937 in New York, NY. Over the next 40 years, the couple lived in several places including New York, Washington, D.C., Cali and Barranquilla, Columbia, and Toronto, Ontario in connection with Pete's career with G.E. Mrs. Petura was an accomplished painter and avid genealogist, and in her younger years enjoyed car racing, participating in numerous road rallies. Upon retirement in 1976, Vivian and Pete settled in Rio Rancho, NM, where they became active in their new community and enjoyed traveling around America's National Parks in their R.V. "Esmerelda." Vivian was a charter member of Chapter BD of the Philanthropic Education Organization (P.E.O.) of Rio Rancho and deeply enjoyed being a part of such a dynamic organization. She was a Past Regent of the Charles Dibrell Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. She was active in the New Mexico Republican Party and in the Republican National Committee. She was a state president of the New Mexico Federation of Republican Women and an active member of the San Bern Chapter. She served as a delegate to the National Republican Convention and on the Platform Committee in Houston, Texas. She enjoyed her involvement in The Westerners and in the Sandoval County Historical Society. She was preceded in death by her husband and ten siblings and is survived by three sisters-in-law, numerous nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 18 at 11:00 a.m. in the Chapel of Vista Verde Memorial Park in Rio Rancho with the Reverend David Schreffler officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Presbyterian Hospice, Chapter BD P.E.O., Storehouse West, the Alzheimer's Association of New Mexico, Rio Rancho Presbyterian Church, the American Cancer Society, the America Heart Association, or a charity of choice. Arrangements by Vista Verde Memorial Park, 505-892-9920
        Published on: Sun February 12, 2006