On Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, Virginia “Bunky” Seward Thacker, 92, loving wife and mother of two children, passed away peacefully at her home in Smithfield.

Bunky, the youngest of six, was born on April 19, 1928, to the late Henry Elton Seward and Lillea Ellis Seward. On Sept. 18, 1948, she married Raymond Gwaltney Thacker. She was a homemaker by title but by nature a family-maker throughout her life. They raised a daughter, Darlene T. Spady (Bruce Wayne), and a son, Henry Lawrence “H.L.” Thacker, and have loved as a son, Richard Columbus Wrenn Jr.

Bunky loved to cook for her family, friends, and everyone. She was always happy to send extras to those in need. We will all savor a memory of her home-cooked lunches, desserts, and perhaps the best, the holiday spreads. Her humor and her truth nurtured friendships and family for many generations. She was born with an opinion and raised to think on her own. With her “Seward blood,” she rarely found an argument she hadn’t won before it started. She was as unique as her laugh, “Huuueggh” (if you know it, I hope it is playing in your mind as you read this). She loved “going to town” to see her friends. You knew her whether she was coming or going in her Lincoln Towncar with her “I’m Bunky” license plates. She cherished her trips to the beauty parlor, shopping, visit with friends, playing bingo at McDonald’s, or snacking and talking with friends at Hardee’s on Church Street. She was a genuine friend to many people in and around Smithfield and lived the words of her good friend Mrs. Elizabeth Powell, “To have a friend, you have to be a friend.”

Bunky is survived by her best friend, soulmate and husband, Raymond; their children, Darlene, H.L.; her grandchildren, Wayne, Brandon Lee, Larry Jr., and Scott; eight great-grandchildren.

Final service arrangements are pending at this time. Online condolences may be registered at www.littlesfuneralhome.com.