This world was blessed by the birth of Corene Manus on May 6th, 1938. From an early age, she was guided by her faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ and that faith never wavered. The Lord released her from her earthly bounds at approximately 1:30PM on September 25, 2020
Corene was a loving mother to 5 children, Virginia Swinea (Bobby), Joyce Gresham (David, deceased), Stanley Michael, Pam Shapiro (Sigmund) and Hope Byrd (Ricky). A loving grandmother to 6 grandchildren, Nicole Slaton, Malora Graves, Mindy Borden, Brian Michael, Josh Shapiro and Kyler Michael as well as a loving great grandmother to 15 great grandchildren and her many nieces and nephews. She was a part-time caregiver to several of her grandchildren which gave her the loving name of MawMaw, a nickname she wore with pride and which even some of her own children began calling her. She was such a loving, wonderful mother that even the neighborhood children gravitated towards her as her own children were growing up. Corene was so very blessed to have 5 wonderful children that devoted their time to caring for, not only her but PawPaw (Almon) in their most fragile years. Something extremely rare and extraordinary in this day and age. Everyone came together to ensure that both were loved and cared for at home until their passing. To those 5 amazing individuals, the Lord will reward your unwavering values and devotion, thousands of times over one day.
Corene was a lifelong resident of Killen and was married at an early age on December 17th, 1952 to Judge Almon Michael for 63 years, who preceded her in death in June of 2015. She was an active member of Killen Church of Christ for the last 60 years, an active member of Killen Senior Citizens Center and was even a volunteer for the Red Cross as a young lady.
Corene loved life, worked hard and took exceptional pride in doing a job well. Both her and Almon owned and operated a body shop behind their home for more than 30 years. Corene touched the lives of many of the residents of Killen and was so blessed by having countless loving friends. While Corene loved and practiced our Lord’s will, “it is more blessed to give than receive” (Acts 20:35), those of us that were closest to her know that no birthday, no Christmas will ever be the same without that sparkle, that would come into her eyes when it was her turn to open presents. She loved it, even if the box was empty. We all knew, it was not the present that would light her eyes but the anticipation, the surprise and knowledge that she was loved so much that someone thought she was special enough to do such for her. We will all miss you so much, life will simply never be the same without you. However, we take comfort in knowing we will meet again as the Lord calls each of us home.
Corene is survived by sister Virta Crunk, preceded in death by her mother and father, Nathan and Odell Manus, sister Lucille Thompson, twin sister Lorene Watkins, along with brothers, Mancell and J.W. Manus.
We want to extend special thanks to the members of Killen Church of Christ for all the thoughts, prayers, calls and cards. Also, a very special thank you to her doctor, Dr. Eric Santiago and to Leigh, Lindsey and Mallorie of Hospice of North Alabama.
Visitation will be from 2-3PM at Elkins East in Center Star with her service immediately following at 3PM at Elkins East as well. Burial will be immediately following the service at Barkley-White Cemetery in Elgin. Stan Dean and Tim Grigsby will be officiating. Pallbearers will be Dusty Slaton, Louis Graves, Brian Michael, Gilbert Borden, Josh Shapiro and Kyler Michael.
