Trecia Houston Cartwright

Trecia Houston Cartwright died Sunday, January 4, 2015, at the Baptist Memorial Hospital in Booneville, Mississippi, surrounded by her children. Mrs. Cartwright had recently celebrated 100 years of life, having been born on October 6, 1914, in Prentiss County, Mississippi, to her beloved parents, Lunsford and Minnie Moore Houston. Living her entire life within this area, her roots did not spread wide but rather ran deep in the community she loved. She was a faithful member of First Baptist Church and recently was honored as the oldest congregant there.

Her family includes her son, Terry Malone Cartwright, and her daughter, Donna Cartwright Roten. She welcomed into her family as her own children Terry’s wife, Gloria Cummings Cartwright, and Donna’s husband, Bobby Keith Roten. Joy was added with the birth of each grandchild, the welcoming of each spouse and the arrival of each great-grandchild. Her grandchildren are Cory Malone Cartwright and his wife, Krista Blumenstock Cartwright; Manda Roten Gibson and her husband, Kevin Earl Gibson; Joshua Keith Roten and his wife, Amanda Thompson Roten; and John William Cartwright and his wife, Jan Stevens Cartwright. Her beloved great-grandchildren are Ella Grace, Evie Cate and Finn Malone Cartwright; Lucy Cartwright and Peter Thomas Gibson; Elisha Keith and Sarah Katherine Roten; and Battle Malone II and Archer Stevens Cartwright. They were her “tweet ones.”

Her faith in the Lord, too, ran deep. Every day Mrs. Cartwright quietly relied on the Lord for every action; each night she gave any concerns to Him. She was a model to her entire family of a life well lived.

Mrs. Cartwright had a long career at the Prentiss Manufacturing Company, using her position to help countless people in the community. People often stopped her to say, “You gave my mother her first job when she so badly needed it” or to offer other expressions of gratitude for her having used her work as a platform for good.

Mrs. Cartwright has joined her family members who preceded her in death. In addition to her parents, she joins her husband of 73 years, Battle Malone Cartwright; grandchildren James B. and Bartlett L. Roten; her brothers, Fred, Harlis, R. G. and Hursel Houston and their spouses; and her sisters Myrtle Stephens, Erlene Murdock Dysart and Ila Wilmoth and spouses. She is survived by her beloved sisters Syble Moore Tollison, Lee Barron and Carolyn Montgomery, and a host of both Houston and Cartwright nieces and nephews, whom she loved.

Mrs. Cartwright has been a rock at the center of her family and of her community, mightily strong and imminently humble. Her “strength was borrowed from God and lent to others.”

The family is grateful for the faithful love and friendship shown to Mrs. Cartwright these many years. Special gratitude is given to the kind staff and friends at Chriswood Assisted Living, Mrs. Cartwright’s home for the last two years; to her dear neighbors who adopted her as their own; to Dr. Clifton Cartwright, who has long provided excellent and compassionate care; and to the staff of Baptist Memorial Hospital, who so ably and kindly eased her last days.

Visitation for friends and family will be held on Tuesday, January 6, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at McMillan Funeral Home, Booneville. The funeral will be Wednesday, January 7, at 1 p.m., First Baptist Church, Booneville, with Dr. Lynn Jones officiating and visitation at the church beginning at noon.