Katie Lee Whitten English was born Friday, October 30, 1914 in Rosebloom, Tallahatchie County, Mississippi to Frank Milton Whitten and Bessie Meeks Curry Whitten. She was the second-born in a family of six children; Lindsey Noel, Frank Meeks, Thomas Melton, John Dement, and Bessie Curry. As a child, she helped with many of the household duties due to her mother's death when she was only eight, she enjoyed roller skating on the sidewalk and would tell stories of speed skating and 'jumping-the-cracks.' She graduated from Casrilla High School with 12 other students. Hearing the call of duty during WWII, she enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1943 serving as a Staff Sergeant stationed at Camp Joseph H Pendleton, Oceanside, CA. After her discharge from the Marines, she moved to Memphis TN where she married Elmer Bryant English in 1952, and they purchased a home in the Shelby Forest area of Memphis TN where she lived the rest of her life. On the mini farm she took care of her family and home. She enjoyed cooking, so you would find her making meals of squirrel dumplings, venison burgers, fried catfish, or speckled peas and mashed potatoes. Every dinner ended with a homemade dessert, some of the family favorites were fried apple pie, lemon pie, and white cake with chocolate syrup. Throughout her 106 years of life, most of her time was spent caring for her family, but she also enjoyed deer hunting, fishing, and camping. Rumor has it that she was the sharpshooter of the family, hitting the bull's eye in one try and able to shoot squirrels out of the pear tree. She enjoyed working crossword puzzles, laughing with 'Nancy' and 'The Family Circus' comic strip in the newspaper, and watching Jeopardy before dinner. Solitaire was one of her favorite card games, but with family and friends she enjoyed playing a good game of Rook or Spades, we can all hear her laughing loudly and proclaiming, 'it's all in the widow.' Her pride and joy were her children and family, she will always be remembered for her caring words, loving hugs, warm smiles, and letting you know that you are loved and special in her eyes. She was the nurse that bandaged your cuts, the place you would go to find comfort, the secure place at the end of the day. As her favorite pastor, Adrian Rogers, would say, 'Death is just a comma to a Christian, not a period' and so, we wait for the great sound of the trumpet of God. She will be missed, remembered, and loved.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years, Elmer Bryant English.

She is survived by her children, Rhonda Lea English Lown and husband David Lown of Cary NC, Elmer Vallis English and wife Lucy Underwood English of Camden TN, and Elwyn Arnold English and wife Lady Bird Rose English of Lutts TN.

She is also survived by six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Grandson Daniel Jack Lown and great-grandkids Brannon Daniel Lown and Samantha Ansley Lown of Apex NC, grandson Derek Jay Lown of Fuquay Varina NC, and granddaughter Jennifer Anne Lown Tart and great-grandkids Reuben Coll Tart and Ezekiel James Tart of Cary NC.

Granddaughter Elizabeth Lucy Hidman and great-grandkids Jonathon C. Dunn, McKenzie P. Dunn, and Landon J. N. Crisp of Memphis TN. Step-grandkids Donna Maxwell and Charlotte Ray, and step great-grandkid Haley Ray.

"Then I heard a voice from heaven say, 'Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. ' 'Yes,' says the Spirit, 'they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them. '" Rev 14:13 .