Mrs. Gladys Lavorn Chatman Howard, 70, of Petersburg, VA, passed away April 26, 2025. She was the daughter of the late Robert Junius Parham of Dinwiddie, VA, and the late Carrie Mae Briggs Parham of Stony Creek, VA. She was the wife of Randolph Howard of Petersburg, VA.

Gladys was much loved. At a very young age, her parents often sent her down south from Baltimore to Emporia, VA.  to spend time with family. Her trips to visit her Aunt Ruth and cousin Maryruth became permanent, and Gladys was blessed with a second mom and sister very early in life.

Gladys was baptized and accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior early, attending neighboring churches and those associated with family legacies.  She attended Sunday School and, during summer months, she attended Vacation Bible School. Gladys enjoyed playing, dancing, and listening to music. She was also a happy person and enjoyed helping others, children, and senior citizens, and that passion developed into her pursuit of a nursing career.

Gladys developed several lifelong Emporia friendships. She loved children and often talked about having lots of kids. Her love and passion were reflected through fostering several young kids during most of her adult life.

Gladys was educated in the Greensville County Virginia Public School system and attended Greensville High School in Emporia, VA. Marrying soon after high school, Gladys pursued her passion for helping and healing others, and she devoted her career to nursing in Petersburg. She completed her Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN), and several other specialized credentials in patient care with special and mental health needs.

In parallel, Gladys pursued her lifelong dream of becoming a mother with her longtime partner, the late Larry Johnson. She became a dedicated, loving, and caring mother who devoted her life to providing constant love and support to her sons, William, Donnell, Ronnell, Adrian Sr., and Demonte.  In addition to raising a family and working full-time, Gladys was a lifelong learner. She completed an Associate in Arts degree and was pursuing her Bachelor's degree online in Psychology from the Ultimate Medical Academy. She was employed by Central State Hospital in Petersburg, VA., where she worked for most of her professional career.

Gladys was an avid music lover and truly enjoyed spending time with family and friends would often plan fun days ranging from trips to skating, bowling, and the movies to cookouts, road trips to Williamsburg, Kings Dominion, and Baltimore.  She never met a stranger and fostered friendships that spanned decades, including her best friend of 40 years, Cynthia. Gladys also enjoyed hearing the Word of God and would often have prayer calls with her family. Later in life, love found Gladys again, and she married Randolph Howard of Petersburg, VA. Randolph was a loving and caring husband and friend, and the two became inseparable. Gladys dearly loved her many grandkids, nieces, and nephews, and always planned big dinners to pull everyone together.

The people whose lives she touched will remember her as a great and loving wife, wonderful mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin, neighbor, and friend.

Gladys was preceded in death by her parents, Robert Junius and Carrie Mae Briggs Parham; twin sons, Donnell and Ronnell Johnson; one brother, Junius Freeman Parham, one brother-in-law, Joe Hicks, Jr., and her special second mother, Ruth Briggs Wilks.

Left to cherish her memory are her loving husband and devoted friend, Randolph Howard; three devoted sons, William Johnson of Petersburg, VA, Adrian Parson (Shaneka) of Dinwiddie, VA, and Demonte Johnson of Petersburg, VA; five grandsons, Giovarntae Johnson of Petersburg, VA, Ronnell Johnson, Jr. of Petersburg, VA, Adrian Parson, Jr., of Dinwiddie, VA, Adien Johnson of Prince George, VA, and Nasir Johnson of Prince George, VA; three granddaughters, Sha'kazia Parson of Dinwiddie, VA, Dayshia Sims of Petersburg, VA, Serenity Johnson of Prince George, VA; one great-grand daughter, Gianna Johnson of Petersburg, VA, one sister, MaryRuth Hicks (Joe - d.) of Orlando, FL; one aunt, Dr. Ethel B. Poarch (Alfield - d.) of Stony Creek, VA; two nephews Anthony Parham of Baltimore, MD, Corey Parham Sr of Baltimore, MD; three nieces, Carrie Parham of Baltimore, MD, and Kimberly and Kelli Hicks of Orlando FL, and a host of beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Services will be held 3:00 P.M., Saturday, May 10, 2025, in the Chapel of J. M. Wilkerson Funeral Establishment, Inc., 102 South Avenue, Petersburg, VA, the Rev. Dr. Ethel B. Poarch, eulogist. The interment to follow at The Briggs/Fields Family Cemetery.

J.M. Wilkerson Funeral Establishment, Inc., 102 South Avenue, Petersburg, VA, (804) 732-8911, watch the funeral services live online at www.jmwilkersonsince1874.com.