Mildred Mayme McWilliams

Mildred Mayme McWilliams was born in Mason County near Pontotoc Texas on January 7th in 1921 to Robert A. and Stella Mae(Jones) Vest. She went to be with the Lord on January 9th, 2 days past her 93rd birthday. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Millard Clinton McWilliams, her son, Tommy Robert McWilliams, and her son-in-law, Eddie Rodgers. She is survived by her daughter, Stella McWilliams Hunt and husband Bill Hunt, Jr. of Denton, son, Douglas Clinton McWilliams and wife Karon McWilliams of Fredonia, daughter Patty McWilliams Rodgers of Florence, and one sister-in-law Martha Jane Sessom. Mildred is also survived by 6 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren, and 10 great-great Grandchildren, all who lovingly refer to her a Granny Mac. Mildred was the only surviving child born to Bob and Stella Vest. She was so small they laid her in a shoe box lined with hand picked cotton. They placed the box in an open drawer of the chest of drawers closest to the fireplace so they could regulate the heat.To the great sadness of the family, her mother, Stella Vest, died when Mildred was only nine months old. Bob Vest raised Mildred with the help of his two old-maid sisters, Lucy and Lucinda. Mildred was brought up in the log house on the Vest Homestead located near Slick Mountain. She graduated from Hutchinson High School in Pontotoc and married Millard, a Fredonia boy on June 20, 1939. They were married sixty-one years before Millard passed away. Working side-by-side, Mildred and Millard raised not only four children but also gardens large enough to feed a community of friends and families. No one ever left their home without a full stomach or a paper sack of venison or home grown vegetables. Mildred loved sewing, quilting, and growing flowers. One of her biggest joys was to gather bouquets of fragrant flowers from her own flower beds and decorate as many rooms as possible at the Llano Nursing homes. Without complaint, she spent long hours at the bedside of her son Tommy, and made several trips per week to visit the numerous elderly Vest family members in the nursing home. Her children considered it an honor to take care of her during her old age. Her daughter, Stella, says Mildred believed that everyone who walked on this earth was equal. Doug said it was easy to sum up his mother's life, "She simply was a very good woman." Patty said she will remember watching her mother reach out to grasp anyone within reach of her wheelchair, always telling them how much she loved them. She spent her entire life leading by example and telling others about Jesus. Mildred found great joy in attending many different churches in her life and in her later years, joined the Lawler Baptist Church in Florence, TX. Her children will miss her dearly, but,take great joy in knowing they will see her again. Memorials for Mildred can be sent to the Pontotoc Cemetery Association, C/O P.O. Box 46, Pontotoc, TX 76869.

Mildred Mayme McWilliams

January 7, 1921 - January 9, 2014