
Shella Mae was born Sept. 10, 1918 in Simms, TX to Roy R. Williams and Ila Mae Sanders Williams, and passed away on Friday, Jan. 15, 2010 at Christus St. Elizabeth in Beaumont, TX. She was 91 years old.
She married Marion Leatherwood on July 28, 1931 in Beaumont, Texas and resided in the Lumberton area most of her life.
Shella Mae was a very special person who had many talents. She was a self-taught seamstress and a wonderful cook who loved to bake and decorate cakes.
She taught her daughters how to be thrifty, self-reliant, and instilled in them a solid work ethic. She was a beautiful person inside and out.
Shella Mae was a member of Parkway Life Church in Lumberton (formerly Lumberton United Pentecostal Church) where she was a very devoted Sunday School teacher and Youth Leader for many years. She loved her God and left a great Christian Heritage for all her descendents. Her greatest desire was for all her family to follow in her footsteps, so she could be reunited with them in Heavan.
She was preceded in death by her parents, a step-father, her husband of fifty-four years, four brothers and two step-sisters.
She is survived by her four daughters: Billie Mae O'Leary (Joe), Marion V. "Jean" Herrington, Catherine Dale McKnight (Harlen), Laura Sue Gore (Joey Hooks). Seven Grandchildren: Gary Butler (Judy) of Kountze; Pamela Bowers (Glenn) of Jonesboro, AR.; Alvin G. Lassiter, Jr. of Silsbee; Keith McKnight (Pam) of Littleton, CO; Marion McKnight (Marty) of Santa Fe., TX; Kimberly Hargraves of Kountze; George Gore (Jennifer) of Houston.
Seven great grandchildren: Christian Butler, Stewart Butler, Baylor Butler (Hannah), Laurel Anne Butler, Mark Lassiter (Courtni), Austin McKnight, Maegan McKnight, and five great-great grandchildren.
One brother, Gordon Williams (Faye) of Wister, OK; one sister, Alphia Mullins of Hamilton, TX; one sister-in-law, Sheryl Hooper of Texarkana, TX.
The family would like to thank the staff at Village Creek Nursing Home for their loving care and compassion given to Shella Mae and a special thank you to Jo Ann Williams.
Her funeral services will be on Sunday, January 17, 2010, at 3:00 pm at Farmer Funeral Home in Silsbee, TX. Burial will follow at Resthaven Cemetery in Silsbee, TX. Memorial contributions may be made to Tupelo Children's Mansion, PO Box 167, Tupelo, MS. 38802-0167 or Parkway Life Church Building Fund, PO Box 8586, Lumberton, TX. 77657.