Nola Irene Wesson, 98, of Florence, Alabama, passed away on Thursday, March 5, 2026, after a brief illness.
Visitation will be held Sunday, March 8, from 1:00 p.m. until 2:30 p.m. at Greenview Memorial Chapel in Florence, with the funeral service immediately following in the chapel. Brad Adcock and Sonny Owens will officiate. Burial will follow at Pisgah Methodist Cemetery.
Nola married Thomas Wesson Jr. in 1947, and together they spent the next 30 years traveling the world through his career in the United States Air Force. During those years, she devoted herself to creating a loving home for their children while navigating moves to bases in California, Florida, Texas, England, Montana & Louisiana. After Thomas’s retirement in 1977, they settled in North Alabama, where Nola shifted her nurturing spirit from her own children to the many little ones she cared for as a nursery schoolteacher at Little Angel Daycare. Throughout the Shoals, many have carried the memory of being one of “Miss Nola’s children” into adulthood.
In later years, the joy she once poured into her nursery students was given wholeheartedly to her grandchildren and, eventually, her great-grandchildren. Her life was a consistent reflection of the Lord’s invitation to “let the little children come”— to her; they were never a distraction, always a priority.
Alongside her devotion to family, Nola faithfully served and worshiped with her church family, most recently at Stony Point Church of Christ, where her presence and steadfast love were a blessing to the congregation. Her legacy is a testimony to the quiet power of a Christ-like love poured into the next generation, the fruit of which will continue to be seen for years to come.
Nola was preceded in death by her husband of 45 years, Thomas Wesson Jr.; her parents, Clifford and Ola Dodd; her brothers Rufus, Herschel, Cecil, and James Dodd; and her sisters Blanche Arnold and Ruby Garner.
She is survived by her daughters Charlotte Frawley (Jim) and Carol Godsey; grandchildren Courtney Mumbower (Ryan), Izy Brady (Ryan), and Hubbell Godsey (Sarah); and great-grandchildren Wesson Mumbower, Corinne Mumbower, Ava Brady, Ella Brady, Anders Brady, Melah Ruth Godsey, and Lucy Godsey. Nola is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews including a special niece, Linda Russell.
Serving as pallbearers are Jim Frawley, Bubba Godsey, Ryan Mumbower, Ryan Brady, Hubbell Godsey, Tristan Marks, and Wesson Mumbower.
Honorary pallbearers are Tim Wesson, Jerry Wesson, Jim Wesson, Ed Thrasher, Jerry McDaniel, Mark Sain, Malcome Wilkes, and Larry Wear.
