Madge Embry Land

Madge was born on July 21, 1928 in Indianola, Mississippi to her parents James Wiley and Margaret Tupman Embry. She grew up in a love-filled, Christian home with her brother Miller and sister Jessye. She spent many nights on the porch singing hymns while her father played the guitar.

As a teenager, while visiting her brother’s family in Connecticut, they were involved in a serious car accident. Madge was in a coma for 21 days and was even pronounced dead. While being transported to the morgue, someone saw her move, and it was evident that God had performed a miracle and granted her a longer life. Upon discharge from the hospital, the doctors told her parents that Madge would never finish high school or have children. Once again, God had other plans for her life.

Madge did return home and graduated from Indianola High School. In 1946, she moved to Jackson to attend Jackson Commercial College, after which she moved to Washington, DC, and worked at the Federal Home Loan Bank Board.

In 1950, she returned to Mississippi to marry the love of her life Jim Land. They were blessed with their first child, Steve, then moved their family to Jackson and were blessed with their second child, Mark. While in Jackson, Madge worked for Taylor Insurance Agency and Daniel Coker and Horton Law Firm. At the birth of her third child, Lynda, Madge decided to become a stay-at-home mother and dedicate her life to raising her three children.

In 1971, Madge and her husband opened and operated a camera store in Jackson and made many friends among their clientele and neighboring business owners. Several years later, they sold the camera store to open a pawn shop where the entire family had fun running the business together.

In the late 1970s, Madge and her husband were gifted the opportunity to help raise their two grandsons, Miller and Reed Land. Madge spent many afternoons helping the boys with homework and teaching them about running a family-owned business with the grandparents they affectionately called “Mammy and Dad.”

As more grandchildren were added to the family, Madge enjoyed all of the celebrations, from birthday parties and school plays to piano and violin recitals and Holiday gatherings. She became the beloved “Mammy” of them all.

Madge was a devoted wife, mother and friend. She was truly loved by everyone she met, and her smile could light up the darkest of times. She was a great cook but was particularly well-known for her home-fried chicken and famous banana pudding. She enjoyed every long game of Scrabble, watching the Wheel of Fortune with her family, riding waves at the beach and floating in the pool, and appreciating the beauty of God’s creation, especially trees. Like her mother, she was an excellent seamstress and made untold numbers of outfits for her family members. She entertained her grandchildren with stories of all her travels, like attending three World’s Fairs and making many trips to California to visit her sister.

She is preceded in death by her father James Wiley Embry, mother Margaret Tupman Embry, infant sister Lottie Ruth Embry, brother James Miller “Buddy” Embry, sister Jessye Lorene (Embry) Lyon, son James Stephen Land, and husband James “Jim” Clyde Land.

She is survived by her son Mark Miller Land (Sandy) of Bella Vista, AR, daughter Lynda Land Traxler (Kendall) of Madison, MS, and grandchildren Melany Land Cortez, Stephen Miller Land, Matthew Reed Land, Shannon Leigh Land, Mason Paul Land, John Wesley Traxler, Maggie Nicole Traxler, and great-grandchild Nolan Jaymes Land.

A private, family funeral will be held Monday, December 6, 2021 at Lakewood Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, Madge requested that donations be made to Fairview Baptist Church, 492 Fairview Rd., Indianola, MS 38751 or to Gateway Rescue Mission at www.gatewayrescuemission.org.

The family would like to thank our “earth angels” Dr. Eugene Loper and the dedicated Sta-Home Hospice team, Shanita Caldwell, Debbie Smith, Angela Golden, and Julie Orr.