In the early evening of February 28, 2023, Mary Christine Hester, 100, was greeted into the heavenly realms of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
She was born on September 27, 1922 in Waynesboro, TN, to Jessie and Boyd Melton. When she was seven years old, her father was killed in a sawmill accident. The country was in the Great Depression and her mother was forced to move her four young children to Florence, AL where women could find work in the knitting mill. These life-changing events impacted her life and brought to bear many of her special qualities: courage, perseverance, independence, physical and emotional resilience, determination, forbearance, patience, compassion and frugality. She married Nelson Hester in 1939 and they moved to Tuscumbia, AL. While she devoted her life to her two daughters, she also worked at Robbins Tile and Floor Company. When the plant closed she worked another 20 years as a chief inspector at H.D. Lee. Her declining health forced her to move to Florence, AL at the age of 93 to be closer to her daughters. After the death of her oldest daughter, she moved to Austin, TX where she lived with her youngest daughter and son-in-law. Even as her body grew weaker, she always insisted on mending clothes and doing odd jobs around the house every day just so she could be helpful.
Christine was a longtime member of the Cox Boulevard church of Christ in Sheffield, AL. When she moved to Austin, Texas, she became a member of Northwest church of Christ. She regarded her faith as the great blessing of her life. It held her through joy and sorrow, filling her with gratitude. She modeled her life from the words of the Apostle Paul as she had learned to be content in challenging circumstances. In difficult times, she relied on the Lord and often repeated phrases from the Serenity Prayer. She made many long lasting friendships in her life. As she grew older and her friends died, she often said that old age could be a lonely place because all of her friends were gone and she missed them.
Her hobby and enviable talent was sewing. She created beautiful dresses for daughters and granddaughters. Her creativity was displayed as she designed costumes for plays, cheerleader, and majorette uniforms. In later years she made matching bedspreads and curtains for her great-grandchildren. When offered a job to sew for the public her response was, “ I only do this for love”.
She is preceded in death by her father, Boyd Melton, her mother, Jessie Melton, her sisters, Lorene Sanderson and Louella Gamble, her brother James Melton, her husband Nelson Hester, and her beloved daughter, Sue Hester Simpson.
She is survived by her daughter, Lou Hester Meadows Driggers (Max) of Austin, TX; her beloved grandchildren, Marinda Simpson Collins (Kenny) of Foley, AL, Bill Simpson of Russellville, AL; Jason Meadows (Amy Puckett) of Rogersville, AL, and Tina Dorsey (Claude) of Birmingham, AL. She leaves behind ten great grandchildren, and numerous great-great grandchildren.
She will be remembered for her quiet loving spirit, thoughtful wisdom, and always being there for her family. She was probably known best for her devotion to her grandchildren and great grandchildren. They were the delight and light of her final decades. Affectionately known as Nanny, she was the voice of comfort and reason, always there to help, to reassure, or advise-if advice was sought.
The family would like to thank the following:
neighbor Joe Destin, on Walker Ave. Tuscumbia, AL for his untiring assistance,
Debra Aday and neighbors on Dora Drive, Florence, AL who watched out for her and kept her fed, her TX church family from Northwest Church of Christ who showered her last years with love, and the staff of Austin Enhabit Hospice for their incomparable help and care.
Visitation will be Tuesday, March 7, 2023 from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. at Rogersville Funeral Home Highway 72, Rogersvillle, AL. Funeral service will follow at 1:00 in the chapel with her beloved son-in-law Max Driggers officiating.
A graveside service will follow at Greenview Memorial Park, Florence, AL.
Friends are invited to attend either service.
In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to your favorite charity.
