Thelma Collier Sheffield

On the 19th day of August, Thelma Collier Sheffield severed her earthly ties and ascended to be with the Lord and Savior, who graciously granted her 97 years to walk this earth. She was born June 29, 1915 to Monroe Kimbrough Smith and Juanita Eller Smith near Rising Star, Texas.

She grew up in Coleman, Texas where she met and married Burrell Dee Collier. In 1956, they moved to Austin where they opened The Lariat Ranch Wear & Saddle Shop on South Congress. After Dee’s death in 1991, she married Isom Sheffield, Jr. in 1995 until his death in 2006. She was the oldest living member of Great Hills Baptist Church, where she worshipped for nearly thirty years.

She was preceded in death by three sisters and eight brothers. She is survived by one sister, Relta Jane Bennett; three children, Shirley Butler Long and husband, Reverend Charles Long, Woodrow Butler, Jr. and wife, Carolyn, and Brenda Butler Campbell and husband, Cimron; 8 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives, and a host of friends.

We learned much from our Mother (Nana)…hospitality, diligence, perseverance, humor, and how to grow old gracefully.

We would like to extend heartfelt gratitude to the staff members of Hospice Austin for their care and invaluable assistance during the months leading up to her passing.

Our family will receive friends from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M., Thursday, August 23, 2012 at Cook-Walden/Forest Oaks Funeral Home. Funeral Services will be at 10:00 A.M., Friday, August 24, 2012 in the Chapel of Cook-Walden/Forest Oaks Funeral Home with Pastor Ross Hartsfield officiating. Interment will follow at Cook-Walden/Forest Oaks Memorial Park.