Anne Dyer

Memorial services will be held at 2:00pm, Wednesday, July 24, 2013 at Wright and Ferguson Funeral Chapel, Clinton. The family will receive friends one hour prior to services.

Anne was a gracious and loving mother, wife, and friend to a great many people. She was a true Southern Belle.

She was born in Shreveport, LA in 1946. She was adopted at an early age by two Italian immigrants, Michael and Ella Mae Leon. They took her in and loved her as much as any natural parent could. From them she learned early that you don’t need to be blood related to be a family; and that stayed with her forever. If you were lucky enough to know her, you knew you were always family.

She moved to Natchez in 1962, and then to Jackson in 1978, and was a permanent resident from then on. She always joked about getting trapped in Mississippi, but she truly loved its people and called it home. This is where she would become big Mama to a whole new family. Her family.

She wouldn’t just take in strangers off the street, but if you were a friend of any one of her children or husband, you had a second mother. She would give you her last five dollars if you needed it. She always had an extra bed or couch if you were put out. She would spend all day in the kitchen cooking to make sure you were fed well. Anne made the best fried chicken on earth. All of her children’s friends called her “mom”.

As with most children, her’s made mistakes on the way through life. She always forgave them and was honest about what had to happen. She made sure you were accountable for your actions and learned from your mistakes.

She taught her daughter to love herself. Do good things yourself, the rest will come naturally. She taught her oldest son that no matter where you go, or how long it takes to get back, you were always welcome in her home and heart. She taught her youngest son to love and be patient with people.

She met her soul mate in Scott Dyer, to whom she’s been married to for 21 years. They completed each other and she always said she would spend the rest of her life with him. They shared a love normally reserved for couples that have been together for many more decades.

Anne had a deep affection for animals, from the time she was a teenager and snuck a horse in the trailer her aunt lived in, to the dog she has now (affectionately named “Move”), to her cat that now lives on the roof of her house. She treated her pets with the same love she showed everyone else.

For all the things she did for people, she would never accept payment or compensation. She did it out of the goodness of her heart and soul. The only thing you ever owed her for her help was to help someone else in return.

Cancer took her in the end. She put up a strong fight, but the disease won. During her final days, she said, “Don’t be sad for me. I had a good life.” She had her friends and family close by to see her through to the end. She passed like she always wanted; in her bed, in her house.

Don’t feel sad for her passing. Instead feel joy for having been a part of her life. You were in the presence of one of God’s special creations. She loved life, family, and friends.

She is survived by her husband, Joel Scott Dyer; daughter, Angela Atwood; son, Jason Humes; daughter-in-law, Michelle Humes; grandchildren, Darlene, Alicia, Leah, Tammy and Christina; son, Stephen Butler; daughter-in-law, Danielle Butler; grandchildren, Autumn and Lucy; sister, Barbara Bridgeford; nieces, Robin, Tracey and Brenda; nephew, Gordon; and life-long friends, Judy Wheat and Melody Sneed.

This world is a little less bright now that she’s gone. We all love and miss her more than words can say.