Ms. Edna Earle Simmons Wilburn

On this day, Wednesday, November 22, 2023, the life of this beautiful lady, Edna Earle Simmons Wilburn, was over on this earth, but she will live forever in the hearts of her children, Jeanette Martin, Brandt Wilburn and wife Sharron, Drake Wilburn and wife Beth, Bonnie Stewart and husband Eric, Patricia McDaniel and husband Mark, and brother Carl E. Simmons and wife Mary in North Carolina. She was “Nonny” to 96 grand, great, great-great, and great-great-great grandkids. She is in her heavenly home with daughter Loyce “Bebe” Perales, sister Helen Carrier, and brother Jimmy Simmons. Edna was born August 20, 1928, and was with us for 95 years. She moved to Houston as a young girl with her family from Osyka, MS in 1941 and left the farm life far behind. She retired from Exxon in 1986, and shortly thereafter, moved next door to her sister in Lindale Park where she has resided for the past 34 years. She loved working in her yard and took pride in her many “Yard of the Month” awards. She was still doing her own yard work at age 90. Edna and Sister Helen enjoyed many long weekends at Edna’s beach house at Roll Over Pass where family and friends gathered for reunions and shared fun times. However, for the past 50 years, the most loved family tradition was the gathering on Christmas Eve-Eve at “Nonny’s”. Family, food and laughter and especially singing filled her home and our hearts with a lifetime of memories. Edna was proudly a lifetime member of the VFW Ladies Auxiliary Post 581 since 1994. She also was a loved member of the Oakwood United Methodist Church from 1971 until its close. Edna will be dearly missed by family, friends and neighbors. A life well lived.

EULOGY

By Michael Martin

December 1, 2023

Hello everyone.

If there’s one thing I’m certain of….

Heaven is the cleanest it’s ever been, and the cup of wine Jesus was drinking out of has been picked up, washed, dried, and put away before he could finish.

When I was asked to do this I’ll admit I wondered if I was qualified….

Nonny grew up picking cotton.

Where her house didn’t have plumbing or lights, and heat was provided by a wood stove.

How could I sum up 95 years in just a few minutes?

August 20, 1928.

Here’s some perspective:

Before 1928 there was no sliced bread.

Before 1928 there was no Micky Mouse.

There were no TV stations until 1928.

The first Office building with Air Conditioning was built in 1928.

Even Bubble Gum didn’t exist until 1928.

And the average woman lived to be just 58.

That’s a lot...So far from me….

What an experience her life must have been.

How can I sum up the impact of someone responsible for 96 people living on this planet?

There is only so much one grandson can know about his grandmother.

And, the more I asked people, the more I realized…That’s okay.

I have my version of Nonny, and so did everyone I talked to.

So, hold your stories close to your heart.

And know this is simply my version of my Nonny.

And my thank you to God for showing us His love through her.

I bet you’ll hear some similarities with your own story of her.

She was “your Nonny”.

She was the same person in so many ways to everyone and when you talk to her kids you see a tailored version of her.

She cared for each one just a little differently. She somehow knew what you needed.

I think she just had a way of meeting you where you were and being exactly who you needed her to be.

Strong. Fearless. And forgiving when you needed it. She was force.

She didn’t always appreciate the joke, but she knew how to laugh.

And put her in a car next to Aunt Helen, and buckle in…you’d experience comedy gold.

Without even trying, they were hysterical together.

She told me not so long ago how she missed her sister so much.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Some of my earliest memories were at her house on Appleton.

Appleton…where I swore off Budweiser and cigarettes after finding her koozie and cigarette purse.

I went in a baby and came out a man on Appleton.

It’s the earliest I can remember being really embarrassed. I walked in on her changing her shirt.

I saw too much and couldn’t get out of the room fast enough.

I thought my life was over and she thought it was the funniest thing ever.

It’s the place I learned, if you had rocks, make them yours and be proud of them.

She paid us $.10 a rock to paint them white as a flower bed border.

Rick and I probably took two days to finish and made a whole Two dollars and 30 cents.

It’s where I learned about Christmas eve-eve.

Year after year it was something we all looked forward to.

If you’re like us, you’ve spent all the Christmases since trying to recreate Christmas eve-eve at Nonny’s.

Where, better than any internet video, was the joy of watching 6 middle-aged siblings struggle to get off the floor after the picture.

Who started the back-to-front-back-to-front train photo anyway?

The laughter would only get louder as the night went on.

As a kid hide-n-seek was a marathon at Nonny’s,

And, as a kid “Scarlet Ribbons” was hard to listen to

But Nonny would stop sweeping long enough to sit and listen to her girls.

I think about Roll-Over Pass often, and the time we all spent there.

I couldn’t cast an open-faced reel without creating a mess, but she was always so patient

getting the knot out. And now that I have my own kids’ knots to untangle, I realize just how

much patience that really took.

Out in the waves I remember being pushed under the water violently one day by someone.

Coming up for air I’m sure I was already blaming Rick, but there she was, laughing hysterically.

I remember thinking what grandma does that?

My Nonny does.

When she went with us to see Drake in California she sat on the lunch bread in the back seat.

She also decided to just — quit smoking.

And she did… after decades, just said “no more” and that was that.

Her mental fortitude has always stuck with me.

When we had kids of our own, she was there, to love them the way only she could.

And so much strength, with a battery that went on forever.

I just watched a video of 85 year old Nonny jogging around with my son Jett as he was learning how to ride a bike. And we all know she mowed her own grass well beyond that.

What grandma does that?

Nonny does.

Her strength went beyond the physical….

She just had a way of looking at things for what they were.

If I expressed any dissatisfaction about not getting it all done, or feeling overwhelmed,

she’d tell me, on more than one occasion, “you can only do what you can do…”

It’s still the voice I hear when I need to show myself a little grace.

When you get to hear parts of her story, growing up in Mississippi, raising 6 kids and working while doing it, you realize she was born with a lot of strength, and she also had a lot of practice using it.

For all of us she was a constant in a world of uncertainty.

I for one, just took for granted she’d always be here…. because she was.

She taught us that no matter the circumstance, you could forgive and love.

Who becomes close friends with the wife of her ex-husband, and invites them both to Christmas eve-eve.

Nonny does.

She taught us that, no matter the mess, you can always clean it up. And, that life was meant to be lived.

In one of our last conversations, I laughed with her about the time we spent at Roll-over pass…

She smiled and said, “we sure had fun didn’t we…?”

- - - - - - - - - - -

I encourage you to be grateful in your mourning of her…

Be grateful that God blessed you with her.

Be grateful that you got to experience her.

Be grateful that pieces of you were forged by her presence.

Be grateful that somewhere in your DNA there’s 95 years of life.

And remember, a little piece of her resides in each of us.

Find strength in that.

That urge to see something through to completion.

That urge to simply do your best.

That urge to live life, no matter the circumstances.

That urge to clean up the mess.

That little voice that says “you can only do what you can do…”

Who gave you that?

Nonny did.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Mom, Brandt, Drake, Bonnie, and Trish,

I heard this recently:

As we grow up in our own lives, we forget that our parents are growing up along with us.

It reminded me of the journey you got to experience with your beautiful mother.

And seeing her love radiate for your kids, and their kids, and their kids.

She’s your proof God exist. I hope you find peace and comfort in that.

My heart hurts for you.

Know that “The light shines in the darkness, and darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5)

and this too shall pass.

- - - - - - - -

And, if you’re listening, Nonny we love you so much, and we will miss you.

We’re so grateful to have experienced life with you.

You did an amazing job, and we’re all better for it.

And yes, we sure had fun.

You can rest now.

Special Thanks:

To the Pallbearers:

Michael Martin - Grandson

Rick Martin - Grandson

Marcus McDaniel - Grandson

Steve Inman - Grandson In-law

Jared Rivas - Grandson In-law

Matt Cockrell - Grandson In-law

Honorary -

Mark McDaniel - Son In-law

Eric Stewart - Son In-law

And to the many family and friends who contributed to Edna's Video Tribute.

Video by Grand-daughter, Kimarie Inman

Music by Westlife "See you Again", Steve Wariner "Holes in the Floor of Heaven", and Eva Cassidy "Over the Rainbow".