Obituary of Sonya McCollian

MARION, VIRGINIA: SONYA MOZINGO McCOLLIAN, age 55, died Tuesday, June 3, 2014 at her home in Marion, Virginia. Sonya Mozingo McCollian was born in Charleston, West Virginia to her parents, Reverend Neville and the late Patty Ann Mozingo. She was a "preacher's kid" in three different states, West Virginia, Virginia, Texas and then in 1976, when her parents came to Marion, she graduated from Marion Senior High. Sonya attended Gulf Coast Bible College in Houston, Texas, but left to marry a young pastor named Bill McCollian who served The Chatham Hill Church of God in Rich Valley, Virginia. She and Bill would begin together a life of service, love and devotion to not only their children but hundreds in church camps where she was the cook. They were house parents for the Mount Rogers Shelter Home and later the Hope Hill Children's Home in Kentucky. Bill and Sonya would pastor in Virginia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana and then back to Virginia. During her time in Oklahoma, she became a part of Franklin Graham's Operation Christmas Child. She was so blessed to have the opportunity to visit Algeria on three different occasions to deliver the shoe boxes to the children. From there she became the personal assistant to the director of the Franklin Graham Festival. In 2002, Sonya was ordained as a minister and then received her degree in Family Life and Counseling. Bill and Sonya returned to Virginia to pastor the Marion First Church of God. During this time she became the FRG Director for the 760th Engineer Company. She was lovingly called their Angel. Diagnosed with cancer in 2009, she continued to serve until the Fall of 2013, when her pain from the cancer became too much to bear. Sonya was a wife, a mother, a home-school teacher, singer, administrator, counselor and friend. She did all things well. Sonya put all others above herself, it was evident in the way she lived and loved. Sonya could home-school in the morning, work through the afternoon, administer a half million dollar budget and return home to prepare the best pepper burger you could taste and did it all with a smile and great sense of humor. The family would like to express their heartfelt thanks to the wonderful staff and doctors at the Cancer Center of Southwest Virginia. Their friendships and support have made Sonya's treatment so much better. Sonya is survived by her husband, Reverend William McCollian of Marion, Virginia; three daughters, Tara Donavan of Knoxville, Tennessee, Aubrey Green and husband, Steve of Tulsa, Oklahoma and Natalia McCollian of Marion, Virginia; two grandchildren, Jackson Donavan and Sean Green; her father, Reverend Neville Mozingo of Marion, Virginia; two brothers, Duane Mozingo and wife, Velma of Hickory, North Carolina and Drew Mozingo and wife, Linda of Knoxville, Tennessee; and several nieces and nephews. Funeral Services will be held Saturday, June 7, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. at Marion First Church of God with Reverend Bob Neace officiating. The family will receive friends following the service at Marion First Church of God. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Sonya Mozingo McCollian Reservist Assistance Fund, P.O. Box 427, Marion VA 24354. Expressions of sympathy may be made to the family at www.seaverbrown.com. Seaver-Brown Funeral Service and Crematory is serving the McCollian Family.