Willie Mae Staten

WILLIE MAE STATEN, 93, retired seamstress and dressmaker, beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, died August 11, 2012, after a brief illness. Visitation from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, August 15 with funeral services on Thursday, August 16 at 2 p.m., all at Memphis Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens, at 3700 N. Germantown Parkway. She was preceded in death by her husband, J.T. Staten, her mother Nellie Mae Joyner, her father, John Edward Walton, three sisters, Wanda Henson, Mabel Henley and Olene Snipes, and one brother, Edward Walton. Willie Mae loved her family and her work. To her customers she was know as “Ms. Willie”. she worked until her eighties creating elaborate wedding gowns and costumes, including many of those for Cotton Carnival Royalty. Her career included work at Franklin Simon, Phil A Halle, Wolfe Brothers, and The Galleria. She operated The Sewing Shop on Summer Avenue with her mother Nell Joyner in the sixties and Staten’s Alterations on Poplar in the eighties. Her family always came first, and her home was their gathering place every Sunday. She also had a great sense of humor and enjoyed playing practical jokes on family members. She will be missed by her family, friends and customers.She leaves two daughters, JoAnn Ashmore, Myrna Loy Dunford, a son, David Staten, four granddaughters, Lisa Henson, Marla Lynn Philips, Tracey Mae Ishee and Brandy Ashmore Wright, five grandsons, Edward Wayne Logsdon, Michael Brett Humphrey, Jay Allen Ramsey, Patrick David Ashmore and David A. Staten, Jr., 10 great-grandchildren, Felicia Michelle Henson, Christopher Daniel Humphrey, Brianna Carter, Taylor Carter, Jacob Carter, Jay Allen Ramsey, John Alexander Logsdon, Camille Wright. Tyler Wright, Jude Morgan and one great-great-grandchild. www. memphisfuneralhome.net. Memphis Funeral Home And Memorial Gardens 3700 N. Germantown Rd. 901-725-0100