Funeral services for Mabel V. Sporer will be held at Burley Funeral Chapel, Oak Harbor, on Sunday, Feb. 24 at 2:30 p.m. Burial will follow at Ilion, N.Y. A memorial service will be held in Ilion later this spring.

Mabel Valence Sporer, 94, died at Whidbey Island Manor, Oak Harbor on Feb. 21, 2002 following a sudden illness. She was born May 27, 1907, in Van Hornseville, N.Y., to Frederick and Hattie (Lathrop) Schwartz.

Mrs. Sporer was born in a time when most people walked everywhere they went, rode the family buggy or took the train. There were no family cars, most of American homes had no electricity, running water or bathrooms. She lived nearly a century, seeing the world change to what we now know. After living through two world wars and the Great Depression, she developed a sense of self-reliance unseen today.

Mabel met the love of her life, H. Joseph Sporer, and dated him for eight years. They were married in Morris, N.Y., on June 28, 1938. They made a life together in Ilion, N.Y., for nearly 40 years. They scrimped and saved and paid cash for everything, including their home. They were the last generation that did not need credit. Mr. Sporer died in 1977. Mabel remained in her home for 11 years after the death of her husband and in 1988 moved to Oak Harbor to be with her daughter.

Mabel was a member of the Presbyterian Church in Ilion, N.Y. She was a life member, Order of Eastern Star, Evening Star Valley Chapter 82 and a life member, Order of Amaranth, Oriental Court No. 97, both of Ilion, N.Y. She enjoyed cooking, crocheting and needlepoint.

Mrs. Sporer is survived by one daughter and son-in-law, Barbara and Thomas Downey of Oak Harbor; and by two granddaughters and their spouses, Lisa and Michael Schultz of Everett and Julie and William Kyler of Austin, Texas. She was preceded in death by her husband H. Joseph Sporer in 1977 and by one sister and one brother.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Burley Funeral Chapel, Oak Harbor. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to a favorite charity in her name.