Lela Anne Wilson, of Scottsboro, Alabama, passed away at the age of 89 on February 11, 2026. Mrs. Wilson grew up in Navoo, Alabama, and graduated from Carbon Hill High School. After high school, she was working in Birmingham when mutual friends introduced her to Max Wilson, whom she fell in love with at first sight. Lela and Max married in 1963. They loved and supported one another and raised five boys.
Ms. Wilson, later, while working as a school bus driver and raising a family, completed her bachelor’s and subsequently her master’s degree in elementary education. Combining what she learned in college with her experience managing the chaos of raising a houseful of boys, she became a well-known and dearly loved sixth-grade teacher. After retiring from teaching, she volunteered as the librarian of Calvary Baptist Church and gave many hours to loving her grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by a son, Randy Lawson; her parents, Orban Henry and Berta Simmons; and her brother, Jerry Simmons.
She is survived by her husband, Max Wilson; sons, Shane Wilson (Susan), Kent Wilson, Grant Wilson, and Ronald Lawson; and her grandchildren, Lauren Books (AJ), Nolan Wilson (Olivia), Jacob Wilson (Jaclyn), Avery Wilson, Elizabeth Miller (Daniel), and Mary Edwards (Bradley). She is also survived by her great-grandchildren, Kathryn Wilson, Clara Ashley, Clayton Brooks, Elijah Edwards, Lucy Edwards, Levi Miller, and Emma Marie Miller, as well as several nieces and nephews.
Her final moments were spent peacefully in her home in Scottsboro, surrounded by family. She will be remembered for her wit, tenacity, resilience, and most of all her motherly love, which she unselfishly shared with so many.
A visitation will be held at Scottsboro Funeral Home on Sunday, February 15th, from 4:00 – 6:00 PM. Funeral services will be held at Calvary Baptist Church on Monday, February 16th, at 11:00 AM with Dr. Matt Helms, Dr. Jody Gamble, and Bro. Bradley Edwards. Mrs. Wilson will lie in state prior to the funeral services beginning at 10:00 AM.
In lieu of flowers, it was Mrs. Wilson’s wish that donations be given to a charity of one’s choice. She always had a big heart for the homeless, and
her favorite charity was Downtown Rescue Mission in Huntsville, Alabama.
Arrangements Entrusted to Scottsboro Funeral Home
