Christine Weems

Christine lived a life shaped by deep faith, fierce intelligence, and a capacity for love that extended well beyond the boundaries of her own family. A child of the Great Depression, she emerged not cautious or withholding, but generous, joyful, and profoundly attentive to beauty, people, and purpose.

Christine aspired to become a public- school teacher, and though the demands of military life and motherhood redirected that path, the gifts she would have brought to a classroom instead blessed her children – —and countless others – —throughout her life. From start to finish, Christine sought to ensure that those she loved were well-schooled in what she believed mattered most: becoming thoughtful people, loving Christians, and humble souls. Those lessons were conveyed most deeply through her own example.

As the wife of a career military officer, Christine embodied the often-unseen strength of military spouses. With unrelenting persistence, keen intellect, and unstinting grace, she supported her husband as he rose through the ranks and anchored her family through constant change. Like many military wives, she was a breed apart – —capable of giving and loving beyond the tidy confines of her own household because that, too, was part of the mission.

Ask anyone about Christine and the first words were likely something like, “Yeah, that girl loooved the Lord.” What distinguished her faith was that it was never abstract. Her call to love in God’s name was concrete, practical, and multidimensional. She lived that calling through decades of church involvement, including more than thirty years of prison ministry and many years teaching Sunday school – —roles she carried with immense pride and quiet authority.

Christine loved to cook, producing culinary works of succulent magic with remarkable consistency. She found joy in the craft itself, but even more in the way food could carry love, comfort, and welcome. Her appreciation for beauty extended outward – —to nature, which she received as a daily miracle, and to the people around her, whom she noticed carefully and loved deliberately.

If you were Christine’s friend, her loyalty was fast and enduring. If she saw someone in need, she gave freely and wholeheartedly, trusting that sincere generosity was a faithful extension of God’s love. She was the epitome of God’s hands and feet on this earth. She delighted in reminders that we are surrounded by angels and took special joy in the many angel keepsakes gifted to her over the years. A lifelong affection for Raggedy Ann dolls remained with her as a tender thread connecting childhood wonder to enduring hope.

Christine also loved beautiful clothing, both giving and receiving it with delight. This years-long exchange, shared especially with her sisters, became a lifelong love language – —one her family will miss deeply.

Christine is survived by her children, Joseph Louis Weems, Christina Denise Wolf, and Rodney Adrain Weems; and by her siblings Minnie Laura Knowles Freeman and James Whitfield.

She was preceded in death by her father, Solomon Whitfield; her stepfather, Sr. Harold Knowles, Sr.; her mother, Hattie Lee Lewis Whitfield Knowles; her former husband, Col. Joe Frank Weems; and her brothers and sisters Ronald Eugene Knowles, William Henry (Bo) Knowles, Jimmy Knowles, Charlie L. Knowles, Sara Louise Knowles Harden, Claudette Knowles, James Calvin Knowles, Solomon Whitfield, and Buford Whitfield.

Tremendous and heartfelt thanks are extended to Christine’s many truly exceptional friends, whose love and loyalty sustained her across the years, and to the doctors and nurses who went above and beyond so that her family was given the gift of her presence for so long.

Information regarding memorial services and burial will be announced.

Memorial donations in Christine’s name may be made to church Stephen Ministries, Prison Ministries, or The Dale House.