LEONA ELIZABETH (TOPSY)SHIRLEY WELLS

Leona Elizabeth (Topsy) Shirley Wells was born in Monroe County MS, May 31, 1917. She died at the age of 97 on December 14, 2014. At the age of two, her family moved to Clay County, MS. Her father, Milford Bard Shirley, was a farmer, dairyman, Justice of the Peace, supervisor of county roads, and member of the board of supervisors for 16 years. Her mother, Nancy Elizabeth McClellan Shirley was a homemaker. Topsy graduated from West Point High School in 1935, where she ran track and was a star basketball player. In 1938, she married Willard Irwin Wells of Starkville, who preceded her in death.
Topsy was a remarkable, positive woman who juggled numerous responsibilities while raising her three children. Willard's work in construction kept them on the move for many years, living in such places as Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. Determined to keep the family together, she oversaw each of the moves, situated the children in school, managed to find a job and a new church home, and still have dinner on the tale each night, all the while maintaining her trademark cheerful outlook and sunny disposition.
Her varied work history saw her a bookkeeper/teller at both Peoples Savings Bank (now Cadence) and Security State Bank (now Regions) in Starkville. While residing in Columbus, she was a popular figure at the YMCA where she was secretary to the general secretary. She then became district manager for a national cosmetics company for five years and was later promoted to field training manager, where she traveled throughout Mississippi and to Arkansas and Louisiana training district managers.
Topsy was a dedicated Christian whose church work and service to others was always a priority. While living in Starkville since 1981, she was a member of the First Baptist Church, where she served in the following positions: president and secretary of her Sunday School class, associate director and secretary of Adult 5, director of Home Bound Ministry for 5 years, program chairman and president of the Live Long and Like It club, program chairman, chaplain, president and washboard player of the Joyful Noisemakers Band.
Topsy's outgoing personality was an asset to many of her clubs, which included the Green Thumb Garden Club, where she served as program chairman and president, the Starkville Civic League, where she was also program chairman and president, and the Thursday and Friday Bridge Clubs.
An avid hobbyist, Topsy's talent as a china painter culminated in a show at the Starkville Library and for the Mississippi Homemakers Volunteers, Inc. at MSU in 2000. Her crochet (particularly afghans), needlepoint, and embroidery pieces are treasured by her children and relatives. She"dabbled" in oil, acrylic, and watercolor painting for fun. Always a superb cook, she was known especially for her garlic grits and strawberry cake.

Since October 2011, she has resided at the Montgomery Gardens Senior Living Center, where she found a happy substitute for the home she had maintained alone since Willard’s death. She always said, “If I can’t be at home, this is the nicest place I could possibly be.”
She is survived by her three children, Willard Thomas Wells and wife, Sarah, of Columbus, Shirley Wells Tennyson Purcell and husband, James, of New York City, and John Edward Wells of Sessums, four grandchildren, Chip Wells, Laura Tennison, Johnny Wells, and William Watkins, three great grandchildren, Tyler Wells, Farrah Wells, and Liliko’i Kwong, plus numerous nieces and nephews.
Hours of visitation will be Thursday, December 18, 2014 from 9:30-11:00 a.m. at Welch Funeral Home in Starkville, MS, with the funeral service immediately following. She will be buried in Memorial Garden Park Cemetery in Starkville.