Sally Ann Wilkinson Hobbs

"""Remember, we do not mourn as those who have no hope. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."" Sally Ann Wilkinson Hobbs, 86, who in recent years added Baton Rouge to her long list of homes, was the life of one more party before passing away surrounded by her entire family Friday, Sept. 15, in a Baton Rouge hospital. She was born on Oct. 23, 1930, in Waxhaw, Miss., which no longer exists, but from which she never lost the accent and flirtatious charm of her Mississippi delta roots. She was never at a loss for conversation, and among her last words in the face of the inevitable at the end were ""I guess I'll just talk myself to death. It took awhile. She was one of four children born to Leila and William Thomas Wilkinson, and quickly learned how to take advantage of being the youngest of the flock, a ploy she would perfect well into adulthood. She graduated from Ole Miss in the early 1950s, where she majored in Phi Mu and husbandry. She came up a few hours short on the latter, but after a brief teaching career, she was married to Kenneth ""K.W."" Hobbs and began the family that sprouted out in many directions and was always there with her until the end. Always a favorite mom of her four children's friends, she made a graceful transition to spoiling grand children and, later, spoiling great-grandchildren rotten. Don't call them grand kids. ""Goats have kids,"" she often said. ""I have children."" The grandchildren and great-grandchildren all called her Mamé, which she loved. During her long, eventful life, she also lived in Moss Point, Miss., Panama City, Fla., Bastrop, La., Pine Bluff, Ark., Natchez, Miss., Springhill, La. and twice in Mobile, Ala., faithfully following her husband on the International Paper Co. transfer circuit. But she spent most of her latter days in Orange Beach, Ala., where she enjoyed short walks on the beach, inviting neighbors over for drinks on the deck and driving slow cars fast. She was a founding member of the Ono Island Ladies club, which raised money for the volunteer fire department but was most renowned for establishing the immensely popular Hump Day Happy Hour. Mainly, she enjoyed the family visiting there, mostly her grandchildren and especially as they came of age and learned the finer points of mixing a vodka tonic for her on the back deck of her home on Ono Island. She also loved showing them off at Orange Beach Presbyterian Church, where she was a longtime member and served as an elder and a deacon. After moving to Baton Rouge five years ago, she was a staple at the Williamsburg Retirement Community, where she quickly rose to power from a political base on the facility's coveted Cafeteria Committee. It was quite an adjustment for a dedicated beach bum, as flip flops were frowned upon. But she credited her early acceptance at Williamsburg to the fact that she was one of the few residents who had a car on property. She also helped organize and encouraged the facilty's pregame tailgating parties during football season, mostly as a good excuse to flaunt her Ole Miss wardrobe in front of the predominantly LSU revelers. They all raised a final toast to her - Hotty Toddy! - at the lastest gathering Saturday. She did not like the Alabama Crimson Tide or Steve Spurrier, and was not shy about commenting on either. She was a familiar site at Williamsburg zipping around the place in her motorized wheel chair, often taking side trips to Capital City Crawfish next door. She flirted with the staff there enough to where, along with her usual sandwich orders, they kept a stash of tonic water on hand just for her to restock with. The Williamsburg staff and family was incredibly kind to her anyway, and became some of her most cherished friends - especially Alicia. In the end, the staff at Baton Rouge General Hospital was also quite attentive to her needs and tolerant of the party atmosphere that somehow engulfed her final hours. A born fighter, you might say she was preceded in death by most of her vital organs and key body parts. She was preceded in death by her loving husband of 33 years, Kenneth W. Hobbs, and one son, Tommy Hobbs. She leaves behind three other children: Scooter Hobbs of Lake Charles, Annie ""Cissy"" Kelly and husband Steve of Baton Rouge and Larry Hobbs of St. Simons Island, Ga.; five grandchildren: Elizabeth Fourrier and husband Nathan of Baton Rouge, Lee Kelly of Baton Rouge, Justin Kelly and wife Meredith of Birmingham, Ala., Jennifer Hobbs of Houston, Ken Hobbs of Titusville, Fla.; six great-grandchildren, Graydon Fourrier, Wesley Ann Fourrier, Sutton Fourrier, Hobbs Kelly, Emaline Kelly and Mae Olivia Kelly; two nephews: Art Dempsey of Knoxville, Tenn., and Bill Underhill of Shreveport. A memorial service will be held Sunday, Sept. 17, at 4 p.m. at the Williamsburg Retirement Community on Government Street (behind Superior Grill).