Essie was born on August 22, 1921 in Lovejoy, Georgia, where she lived most of her life. She was the eldest of thirteen children born to the late Tom and Cora (Lang) Maddox. After finishing school at the age of 17, she married the love of her life, the late T.W. Singleton of Fairburn, Georgia, and they raised six children. Essie was an amazing momma and homemaker, who loved cooking from scratch and sewing clothes for her family. She also worked outside the home at Dundee Mills as a seamstress during the day. In the 1940s, Essie continued her education by taking night classes in bookkeeping and secretarial skills, receiving a diploma from Griffin Technical School. She went on to work as a secretary and receptionist for J.J. Finnegan Industries, even commuting to Duluth when necessary. Essie continued to work even after retirement, refusing to tell anyone her age. Essie also served several years as a “councilman” for Clayton County in the 1960s,
In addition to being passionately committed to her family, Essie was a faithful member of Lovejoy United Methodist Church. Among other activities, she and T.W. served as leaders of the Methodist Youth Fellowship. She remained an active and attending member up until her fall last year which reduced her mobility, and even then she kept up with her church family.
Essie was preceded in death by her son Floyd Daniel and by her daughter Wanda Elaine as well as many of her brothers and sisters. Her surviving siblings are Buster, Sandra, David, and Virginia. She is survived by her children: Thomas (Winona), Barbara Jean, daughter-in-law Paulette, Tony, and Connie. Her family includes ten grandchildren: Barry, Kevin, Neal, Candi Lynn, Christy Ann, Danette, Mandi, Eddie, Jason, and Michelle. Her twelve great grandchildren are Rex, Heather, Tiffany, Amber, Danielle, Brooke, Adam, Justin, Jason, Kayla, Josh, and Lexi. Essie was blessed with seventeen great-great grandchildren and a multitude of nieces and nephews in all generations.
The family requests your prayers on Friday, March 27, 2020 as they honor Essie with a family-only visitation and a graveside service at Sherwood Memorial Park. The family is planning a memorial service on Saturday, August 22nd at Lovejoy United Methodist Church to celebrate Essie’s life on her 99th birthday.
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