Ray "Munda" "Hollis" Northam

Virginia “Ray” Hollis Northam, age 90, a long-time resident of Mobile, AL passed away at her home on Saturday, March 1, 2014. Ray was born in Lamar County, AL on January 15, 1924. Funeral services will be held for her at Mobile Memorial Gardens at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 5th, with visitation beginning at 9:00 a.m. Internment will immediately follow. She is preceded in death by her husband, James P. “Jim” Northam, Sr. Ray and Jim were blessed with three children and eleven grandchildren. Two loving daughters and ten grandchildren remain to cherish her memory: Dianne (Mrs. Rick) Tharp of Jackson Hole, WY and Suzanne (Mrs. Al) Trovinger of Mobile. She is also preceded in death by their son, James P. “Skipper” Northam, Jr. Continuing the family legacy are five grandsons and five granddaughters, who affectionately called her “Munda”. Grandsons include: Charles Patrick “Tricky” Tharp, Cameron Pershing “Chevy Chase” Tharp, Cambridge Perrier “Pinochles” Tharp, Chadwiike Pierrot “Snoooky” Tharp (deceased), and Austin Taylor Trovinger. Her granddaughters: Dubonnet Northam “Doobie” (Tharp) Moseley, Mary Caitlin Trovinger, Catherine Nicole (Northam) Perkins, Jennifer Danielle (Northam) Prater. Two married grandchildren have added new members to the Northam Family: Greg Moseley, Hayley (Cazalas) Trovinger and a special friend, Kristi Paige Rockwell. The family is grateful that Ray was attended to by such dedicated caregivers. Laquisha McCorvey, Anna Johnson, Dorothy McCorvey, and Angie Hooker diligently and lovingly tended to her. Each one of these ladies contributed to her care in a unique and special way. First and foremost, Ray’s caregivers helped her rehabilitate after her stroke. They continued to enrich her life by providing companionship and she was able to regain a degree of independence. They shopped. They ate. They ran errands. They visited friends. But, most importantly, they were by her side until the end. Ray was a devoted member of Dauphin Way Baptist Church for over fifty years. The family is pleased to have her services conducted by Dr. Bill Whitfield. She had a special bond with a close circle of friends from her Sunday school class, “The Delighters”. In addition to their Sunday ritual, these sweet ladies regularly supported each other by sharing a smile, a phone call, a visit, a casserole, a potted plant and some memorable excursions. Ray, the daughter of Claude Vermillion and Vergie (Harper) Hollis, was one of seven children. She attended Lamar County High School in Vernon. Being a dedicated student she decided to further her education at Massey Business College in Birmingham. After graduation she continued to reside and work in Birmingham for several years until Jim returned from World War II. Ray and Jim were married on December 21, 1942 when he was on leave from the Navy. After residing in Birmingham for a number of years, they recognized the need for a wholesale floral distributor in southern Alabama. In 1949 they organized a partnership and Mobile Wholesale Floral Company was established. Their family business successfully served the community for over forty-three years. During this period of time Ray’s love of merchandising contributed to developing their product line to include unique giftware, holiday décor, display and design services. Due to their diligence they successfully expanded their operation from initially serving the Gulf Coast to developing an expansive network of customers in thirty-eight states. All who knew her know how much Ray loved flowers…and know about that incredible “green thumb.” Working in the yard brought her great pleasure. No one could be more thrilled by a beautiful bloom. She anticipated the colorful transition of each and every season. She simply loved digging in the dirt, cultivating spectacular flowers, being outside in the beautiful sunshine and listening to the birds. Ray was a long-time member of the Jackson Heights Garden Club. Being a recipient of the “Yard of the Month” gave her a tremendous sense of pride and accomplishment. Ray was richly blessed with many talents. And she generously shared the fruits of these talents with her family and friends.Needless to say, Ray will be dearly missed.