Winona Dupree Pelham

Frankie Winona Dupree Pelham courageously battled Alzheimer’s until she walked into the arms of Jesus on Sunday morning, October 20, 2024, at the age of eighty-six. She never lost her memory of her family and told them she loved them up until the last few days. She passed peacefully and is survived by the love of her life and soulmate for over sixty-five years, Rev. W. Loyd Pelham, Jr., Attalla. She is also survived by her children Krista (Jack) Beasley, Attalla; and Shawn (Catherine) Pelham, Statesboro, Georgia: and five grandchildren: Jared Pelham, Statesboro; Elizabeth Pelham, Statesboro; Jack Beasley, IV, Attalla; Rebekah Beasley (Bryce Hunt, Fiancé), Tupelo, Mississippi; and John Beasley, Attalla; and her sister Dawn (Tim) Kelley, Birmingham, Alabama.

Winona was preceded in death by her parents Durell and Hilda Dupree, and two brothers, Jackie Dupree (infant), and Dr. John M. Dupree, Mobile. She was born in Ashford on June 26, 1938, where she graduated from Ashford High School in 1956. She studied business and bookkeeping at Riley’s Business College, Sewing and alterations with singer, and youth ministry from the Howard College Extension. After high school, she worked for Hedstrom Union and the Malone Motor Company. She, the chairman of deacon’s daughter, and Loyd, her pastor, married August 23, 1959, and moved to New Orleans for him to complete seminary, and where she worked for the New Orleans Baptist Hospital and Pan American Life Company.

Winona was gifted in the areas of cooking, sewing, and visual arts, utilizing her talents to serve the Lord as a minister’s wife and helpmate for over thirty years, while also being a full-time homemaker and an incredible mother. She served with her husband in many churches in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Florida. In the 1980’s, she began doing alterations for Hazel Hurst Laundry in Dothan, Alabama. Upon moving to Montgomery, Alabama, she managed the Alterations’ Department for Parisian, later transferring to the Parisian stores in Birmingham, Alabama. Furthermore, she continued studying tailoring with the Hart Schaffner Marx suit company in Chicago. She was later hired to be second in command of Alterations’ Division for Saks incorporated in Birmingham, directing over thirteen stores and retiring from them in 2002. She was a faithful church member at First Baptist Church, Gadsden.

Pallbearers will be her son, Shawn Pelham; son-in-law, Jack Beasley, III; brother-in-law, Rev. Tim Kelly; and grandsons, Jack Beasley, IV, John Beasley; and grandson-in-law, Bryce Hunt.

A very special thanks given to Gentiva Hospice and the Healing Hearts Home Care Agency. We are especially grateful for the love and care given to our wife/mother by Jennifer Watkins and Melinda Howard, sitters.

In lieu of flowers, memorial may be made to the George McSpadden Music Camp at First Baptist, Gadsden, the mission projects of First Baptist Church Gadsden, or Autism Speaks.

Services and visitation will be hosted by Morgan Funeral Chapel and Crematory on Thursday, October 24, 2024, at First Baptist Church Chapel, Gadsden. Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. with the service at 11:00 a.m., Rev, Matt Alexander, officiating. Graveside/burial will follow at Kyuka Baptist Church Cemetery in Duck Springs.