Sandra Vaughn Mobley died peacefully at her home, early in the morning of Saturday August 5th. The Visitation is Friday night from 5 to 7pm at Parkway Funeral Home, in Ridgeland. Visitation at Grace Primitive Baptist Church in Pearl is Saturday morning from 9:30 to 11a.m. The funeral will follow at Grace Primitive Baptist Church in Pearl.
Sandra Ann Vaughn was born to Trannie and Esther Vaughn, with an older brother Larry, a twin sister Sonia, and a younger brother Ronnie. Reared in Amory, MS in a share-croppers shack in the Tombigbee River bottom, the house had no electricity or bathroom. When the river flooded, they had to stay with other church members until it receded.
A close-knit family and their St Union Primitive Baptist Church family heavily influenced these early times. Her personality was also significantly shaped by her relationship with her twin sister, Sonia. Sonia was sweet, quiet, and meek. Sandra was take-charge and outspoken, like her father. In either late Elementary or Junior High, Sandra and Sonia were at a drawing at the school. The grand prize was a television. Sonia won, but in a gym full of people, she was too scared to speak up. Without hesitation, Sandra stood up and hollered to the whole crowd, dragging Sonia out of the stands to get the family’s new TV. They were the only people they knew who had a TV. It took them months to save up the money to buy the antenna, which turned out to be a pole they had to turn toward either Memphis or Birmingham, depending on which station, of the two available stations, they wanted to watch.
Later, the family moved to Columbus and eventually to Jackson. Several people along the way helped instill in Sandra the confidence and drive to succeed in life. The first was her mother Esther (known as Murrie to the grandkids). Sandra watched her go back to school at “The W” and develop a career in the library system, driving one of the first Bookmobiles around North MS to small towns without libraries. The 2nd was her Aunt Lura who became the head of the MS Library Commission, all the while imploring Vaughn family members to strive for excellence. The third was a lady named Mrs. Anna Bee, the Director of the Hinds High Steppers. Sandra enrolled in Hinds in 1960 and became a High Stepper. Mrs Bee taught her to believe in herself and that she could be anything in life.
After college, she met Floyd Mobley Jr on a blind, double-date with her roommate Estelle. The two fell in love, married in 1966, and had two children, Janet in 1967 and Dennis in 1972. As young adults, they actively served in the Jaycees, where they met many life-long friends. The children were enrolled at Manhattan Academy, and every Friday night of the world, both Sandra and Floyd could be found volunteering at the concession stand for home football games. When Dennis played minor league baseball, not only was Floyd the coach, but when they thought there might not be a season because no one wanted to be the Commissioner, Sandra became the Commissioner. Theirs truly was a life of service to others. Something they shared.
Although she loved her family dearly, Sandra Mobley was a working woman. She began at Travelers in 1962 in the Audit department, worked there for several years, and when Janet came along in 1967, she stayed home for 4 years raising Janet. She “sewed for the public” during this period, making dresses and skirts for her customers. Six months after Dennis was born, she got a call one day from a friend who still worked at Travelers, and it was back to work for her. This time, she worked in the Group Health Insurance department, a decision that would shape the rest of her life. She worked her way up from Secretary to Service Rep and later into Sales, becoming a National Sales Leader at Travelers and routinely going to Winners’ Conference. When Travelers closed the Jackson office and moved it to New Orleans, she started her own insurance agency in late 1994. First it was Sandra Mobley Agency, then Mobley Insurance Agency (when Dennis joined in 2004) and then Mobley Group. Her success was built on the trust and integrity that she had established with members of the industry during her 25-year career at Travelers.
Highlights of her career include not only financial success, but a lifetime of serving her clients and the industry. She served the industry through being an integral part of the MS Assn of Health Underwriters (now NABIP-MS). The annual award, since 2012, has been named the McNair-Mobley Award as a tribute to her years of service. Throughout her 54-year career, her relationships with clients stand out. She retired in 2021 as the agency sold to SouthGroup, with many clients dating back to the mid-1990s during her first years as an agent. Her son Dennis carriers on her tradition and now insures the children and even grandchildren of some of those early clients as those businesses have succeeded through generations, just like hers did. A fact that both Sandra and Dennis are very proud of.
In her personal life, there were several constants. Sandra loved watching sports, especially if the University of Southern Mississippi was involved. She and Floyd had season tickets at Southern from the late 1970s to today. From the days of Reggie Collier and Sammy Winder to Brett Favre, to Austin Davis and Nick Mullins, they were there for it all. And no one yelled louder or cared more than she did. She also loved basketball, including the fact that her brother Larry played college basketball and coached for many years. We just knew not to bother her or Murrie during March Madness.
Jackson Primitive Baptist Church, later named Grace Primitive Baptist Church and located in Pearl, truly became her church in the early 1980s. She followed her parents there and has been a faithful member for many years. As her parents got older, Trannie was confined to their home for 10 years. During this time, she took her mother Esther to church every Sunday for years. This continued in her the habit of doing things for others, especially older folks. In her later years, Sandra spent many a Sunday picking up older members and taking them to church, going to visit folks who could no longer go to church, and ministering to those who could not do for themselves.
What will be remembered most about Sandra Mobley is not the financial and business success she garnered, that took her from growing up in meager circumstances to a fine home in Madison, it is her honesty and her integrity. And the way they manifested themselves in how she talked. She told it to you straight, as straight and honest as anyone who has ever lived. Even though she was brutally honest, her honesty was not brutal. She told people the truth, whether they liked or not, but it was never to benefit herself. She always looked out for others. And as much as anyone, she served. Just like her husband Floyd, Sandra Mobley served. That service and dedication led to her financial and business success. Her family hopes that at the end of her life, she realized how many people she touched. That’s the true measure of her life.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Trannie and Esther Vaughn, her twin sister Sonia Brown, her 8-year-old grandson Christopher Floyd Mobley, and very recently, her husband Floyd Mobley Jr. She leaves behind two children, Janet Mobley and Dennis (Madeline) Mobley, and a 13-year-old grandson, Sidney Mobley. Plus, brothers Larry (Mary) Vaughn, Ron (Pat) Vaughn, three nephews and a niece, as well as numerous great nephews and nieces.
Donations can be made to Grace Primitive Baptist Church (349 Cross Park Dr Pearl, MS 39208). And the family asks those who come to the visitation and funeral to dress in bright and colorful clothes to celebrate her life. That is how she dressed and how she lived.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.parkwayfuneralhomeridgeland.com for the Mobley family.
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