Celia Maudella Chambless Sampley, beloved matriarch—Momma, Mawmaw, Maw, aunt, sister, and friend passed away in Baldwin County, Alabama, on Monday, August 19, 2024, at the age of 85. Born on June 18, 1939, Celia was the eldest of four children born to Gladys and Jim Chambless, and she grew up roaming the hills and hollers of Arley, Alabama. She spent most of her life in Arley, but she lived in Birmingham and Bessemer for a few years in the late 1950s and early 1960s and more recently in Bon Secour and Gulf Shores, Alabama, from 2019.
A proud graduate of Meek High School, Class of 1957, Celia moved to Birmingham after graduation with her best friend, June McLarty, to work at Southern Bell as a switchboard operator, and shortly thereafter, she met her future husband, Jesse Sampley. They married and lived in Bessemer until 1963 before returning to Arley.
Celia began a career in the US Postal Service in the early 1990s and served the Jasper, Fayette, Arley, and Houston communities with love and dedication as a postal worker and postmaster until retirement in 2013 after a long and distinguished career. Celia was a member of Bethel Baptist Church for many years, as well as Arley Baptist Church. She also volunteered with the Arley Women’s Club and at the Arley Chittlin’ Supper and Arley Day for decades.
Celia was a true artist at heart, finding joy in creating and appreciating beauty in all its forms. She had a deep love for hunting arrowheads, a passion she pursued with the same enthusiasm she brought to everything in life. Her love of music was undeniable, with a particular fondness for Elvis (“The King”) and old country music, especially Hank Williams, Johnny and June, and Marty Robbins. She also delighted in singing gospel music, a testament to her strong faith and love for tradition.
Celia never met a stranger and was known for her infectious laughter, often at the most inappropriate times, her love of family reunions and walking in the woods, and her deep connections with friends. She also had a keen interest in collecting family heirlooms, preserving the stories and memories of generations past. She loved animals so much that she even had a multi-generational family of raccoons and possums that she fed cat food on her front porch for years. She loved people just as much—if someone visited her home, they surely did not leave hungry or thirsty.
Celia believed in and saw the best in everyone and made the world a better place just by being in it and living her best life. Her faith in and love for God and her ability to find humor in all situations sustained her through all the difficulties she faced. Her passing leaves a void in the hearts of all who knew her, but her legacy of love and hope will live on through the many lives she touched.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Gladys Irene Livingston and James Daley Chambless; her siblings, Melvin Chambless (Delia), Lurlene Chambless Phares (Lee), Lee Chambless (Idell), Sim Chambless (Helen), Alice Lowe, Jimmie Nell Smith, Frank “Dicky” Chambless (Linda); her husband, Jesse Hugh Sampley; and her beloved cats, Miss Puss and Baby.
She is survived by her children, Debra Johnson (Ronnie), Jeffrey Sampley, Sonya Yates, and Jessica Sampley (Malinda Tripp-Sampley); her grandchildren, Caleb Johnson (Irina Zhorov), Tyler Yates, Savannah Johnson Giovane (Rich), and Morgan Yates Womble (Daniel); and her great-grandchildren, Felix Zhorov-Johnson and Maggie Giovane, and a multitude of nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Visitation will be held at Collins-Burke Funeral Home in Jasper, Alabama, on Friday, August 23, from 5:00-7:00 PM. Funeral visitation and services will be on Saturday, August 24, at Bethel Baptist Church #1 in Arley, Alabama. Visitation will be from 1:00-2:00 PM, and the service will start at 2:00 PM. Guests will then proceed to Mount Hope Cemetery in Arley for a short graveside service and burial.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Alzheimer’s Association, the American
Cancer Society, or your local humane society.
