Trula Mae Skaggs

May Skaggs, age 94, of Festus, MO. She passed away

peacefully on 05/24/2026 at Scenic Wellness Center in

Herculaneum, MO. She was born on 12/20/1931, in

Festus, MO, to Wendell and Sadie (Brown) Skaggs. She

was a beloved Aunt, Great Aunt, Great Great Aunt, and

friend to many.

Trula was raised in the First Christian Church in Festus,

MO and taught her nieces and nephews about Jesus.

She was a proud 1950 graduate of Festus High School.

She loved her classmates like family. She was the Class

President and organized all of their reunions. She was

the 1950 Festus Tiger Queen and Basketball Sweetheart.

After she graduated, she led a Christian (YMCA)

leadership and community service group at the Festus

High School called Tri-Hi-Y Club for girls. We believe she

did this until 1970. After High School, she worked at PPG.

She later worked for Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman

Marcus. She then worked for Saks Fifth Avenue in Dallas,

TX. She lived in a condominium there for many years and

made many life long friends, especially George. Her

Dallas friends even gave her a huge 80th birthday party.

They invited all of her Skaggs family and served

wonderful Mexican food and drinks. Trula spent her last

15 years or so back in Festus, MO.

Aunt Trula was the matriarch of the Skaggs family. After

losing her mother to tuberculosis when she was just a

child, Trula helped raise her brothers and sister, Lionel

Skaggs (Barbara), Wayne Skaggs (Eva), John Skaggs,

and Loretta Faye Oldham (Buddie).

She was the best Aunt ever! All of our friends wanted an

Aunt Trula too! She had five nephews: Randall (Connie)

Skaggs; Todd (Jodie) Skaggs; Derek (Tracie) Skaggs;

Rhett Oldham (Shelley); & Klint Oldham (Joan). She also

had five nieces: Kelley Skaggs Gray (Tim); Gail

Skaggs-Zumach; Donnalyne Skaggs Higgins (Scott);

Andrea Oldham Gosling (Darren); & Rachel Skaggs

Ramsey (Tim).

Great nephews and nieces include: Randall Skaggs II

(Holly); Gabriel Skaggs (Amber); Danielle Skaggs

Manasco (Mike); Laren Skaggs, Will Skaggs (Emily);

Lanie Skaggs Green (Tyler); Nathan Skaggs (Ann), &

Katie Skaggs; Justin Gray; Paige Turk; Spencer Oldham,

Abigail Oldham Little (Tyler); Andrew Higgins, Jaclyn

Higgins Lunaas (Clarence); Garrison Gosling; Truman

Gosling (Jenna); Corinne Gosling; Sunday Ramsey.

Great Great nephews and nieces include: Elizabeth

Skaggs; Parizzitta Skaggs; Chloe Skaggs; Taylor

Habsieger; Austin Habsieger; Wyatt Johnson; Millie

Manasco; Sadie Gray; Stella Gray; Baylee Eidson; Walker

Skaggs, Chandler (Bair), Nolan Skaggs (deceased), Isaac

Skaggs, Esther Green, Lillie Green, Maverick Lunaas;

Atlas Little, & Shepherd Little.

Trula taught us all many things….If you don’t have

anything nice to say, don’t say it at all; Keep your ears

clean or a potato garden will start growing in there; The

St. Louis Cardinals are the best. She taught us to take

care of each other by example. She taught us how to be

a good friend and to help people that were different,

hurting, sick, or having hard times. She told us family

stories that were passed down from generations before

us like, “Where’s My Big Toe?” She taught us to always

try to do right. Last but not least she told us the stories

of Jesus. We all looked forward to seeing her car pull up

to visit. She greeted us with a kiss and sweet smiles.

During dinners, she liked to eat from a saucer and sample

foods from our plates. She was nice enough to allow us

to be her “running buddies”. We experienced many fun

trips, ate lots of good food, and learned a lot about life

from her. When she sent us mail, there was always a gift,

a piece of gum, and/or an invitation to come see her. Our

world was a little bigger and better because of her. She

always made us all feel like we were her favorite and we

all knew that we were special in Aunt Trula’s eyes.

We all loved her with all our hearts. She was such a huge

part of our lives, that even our friends know all about her.

She cared about us and took an interest in our interests.

She was beautiful, strong, independent, caring,

interesting, kind, quirky, hard headed, fun loving, current,

adventurous, nurturing, and so much fun to have as an

aunt. Best of all she loved each one of us well. We. Will. Miss. Her.

Trula outlived most of her best friends and all of her

siblings. Her brother, Wayne, was the first of the five

siblings that died. The youngest of the 5 children was

Faye. She included a picture of the ‘big 5’ in his flower

arrangement at the funeral home. She said, “Our little

circle is broken now.” Trula’s family likes to think that

their little circle has now had a wonderful reunion in

heaven with both their parents.

Per Trula’s wishes, there will be a small graveside service

for family held at the Brown Cemetery in St. Mary. Her

remains will be sprinkled at the foot of her Mother’s

grave. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the

BROWN CEMETERY in ST. MARY, MO. Send to:

BROWN CEMETERY ASSOCIATION TREASURER, 4605

VIXEN CIRCLE, WILDWOOD, MO 63069-3010.

Checks payable to Brown Cemetery Association. Add: In

honor of TRULA SKAGGS, in the memo line.