BEGINNINGS
Mother Queen Esther Douglass was born on Friday, August 14, 1931, to her loving parents Deacon James Robert Douglass and Mother Maggie Lee Crutcher Douglass. Mother Douglass was the fourth of six children, all girls. She was fondly referred to by her immediate family as Aunt Queenie, and My Aunt Esther. Mother Douglass was given her name by a family friend.
Mother Douglass was preceded in death by her sisters: Mrs. Fannie Mae Williams, Mrs. Lillie Wiggins, Ms. Maggie Douglass, Mrs. Birdie Lenoir, and Mrs. Willie Belle Humphrey.
Mother Douglass was informed in her early teens by a medical doctor that she would not live to reach the age of forty. She proved the doctor wrong and lived to the ripe old age of 92. Praise the Lord!
EDUCATION
Mother Douglass attended elementary school at Farmers Capitol in Madison County, Alabama. At the age of 15, she graduated from Council Training High School in Normal, Alabama. She attended A & M College for two years majoring in Secondary Education.
EMPLOYMENT
In her early twenties, Mother Douglass was employed as a housekeeper in private houses for prominent Huntsville families. Also, Mother Douglass was employed with Automatic Electric, Palco, and GTE Wireless for over 25 years. She retired at age 62 from Verizon Wireless.
CHRISTIAN JOURNEY
Mother Douglass began her Christian Walk at the age of 12 singing in the church choir. One of the songs she led in the choir was “God Rode In A Windstorm”. She was an active participant in Sunday School.
At the age of twenty, she was baptized and became a member of Bethany Steadfast P.B. Church. She was appointed as the Sunday School Secretary. She served as both the Assistant Church Secretary and the Primary Church Secretary for many years under the Pastorship of Rev. Willie B. Graham. Rev. Graham would often comment that “she was born to be a secretary.” She was a Church Usher. She was a member of the church Women’s Auxiliary. In the 1990’s, she was called to be a Church Mother by God. She was reluctant to accept her calling for about 2 years.
Eventually, she accepted the call and was mentored by Mother Ora Wallace, on the role of being a Church Mother. She served faithfully as President of the Mother’s Board. Mother Douglass was the second oldest mother in Bethany’s Church history. For many years until her passing, she was the oldest member of Bethany Church. She loved the youth of the church. On Sundays, she brought snacks and candy to church for them to enjoy. She would ask about each youth member individually. She kept tabs on all of their individual progress. The youth loved her in return. She served for a total of 38 years as the Assistant Secretary and Secretary of the Indian Creek Steadfast Primitive Baptist Women Congress. When Bethany Church was building its current edifice, Mother Douglass served on the Trustee Board for 9 years. She was instrumental in the construction of the current church building. She participated in the new church building dedication service with a shovel in hand. She loved her church family, especially her pastors. Her sole desire was simply to be a good church member. She served her church faithfully with her time, her talents, and her treasure.
COMMUNITY
In the early 1960s, Mother Douglass assisted in administering Polio Vaccinations in Madison County, Alabama to school children. Also, she assisted local Madison County residents in registering to vote after the passing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Who was Mother Queen Esther Douglass?
Mother Douglass had a unique laugh. She had a sense of humor most people did not know about. Most people thought she was sweet, humble, and quiet. And she was! But her niece could see her shaking her hand at her when she was out of order.
Breakfast was her favorite meal of the day. She could be seen cooking eggs, bacon, sausage, and biscuits up until two weeks before her passing. Along with her breakfast, she would drink one cup of coffee with “one teaspoon of milk and one teaspoon of sugar.” Her special recipe.
She rarely missed an episode of “Perry Mason” and “The Jeffersons”.
In 1997, after the passing of her sister Maggie (Founder of Anytime Sitter Services), Mother Douglass took over the leadership of the family business. Because of her leadership skills, Anytime Sitter Services served thousands of local families with home health care services.
Her motto was: “If someone you love needs more care than you can give, call Anytime Sitter Services.”
When the Huntsville – Madison County community discovered that Anytime Sitter Service was “the best kept secret” in the field of caregiving, families did call. Praise the Lord! When executing her entrepreneurial duties, she had the unique habit of standing at her desk instead of sitting to complete client files. Mother Douglass life can be summed up as a steadfast walk with Christ, loving and supportive relationships with her family, and her devotion to church.
She could be observed in some of the most challenging situations and still exemplified what it meant to be a Christian. She held her composure and her tongue.
“Watch your words and hold your tongue; you’ll save yourself a lot of grief”.
-Proverbs 21:23
Although she stood 4’11’ and weighed approximately 100 lbs., she was a POWERHOUSE! She was full of love, forgiveness, and a welcoming smile to everyone she met. Even Steak Out loved Mother Douglass!
LEGACY
On November 25, 2023, Mother Douglass went beyond the Vale into Eternity. She leaves to cherish her memories: two nieces, Ms. Alberta Lenoir-Parker and Mrs. Rose Williams; one nephew, Mr. Louis Williams, Jr.; two great nieces, Ms. Sydney Williams and Ms. Kristian Williams; one brother-in-law, Mr. Leonard Wiggins; one goddaughter, Mrs. Joyce (Carl) Harris; lifelong friends, Mrs. Rosie Whitaker and Mr. Glen (Joyce) Fearn; special neighbors, The Tucker Family; her family physician, Dr. Cheryl Bazzle; The Bethany P.B. Church Family, Caregivers of Anytime Sitter Services; and a host of relatives and friends.
Mother Queen Esther Douglass has received her Heavenly crown.
Funeral service will be 1:00 p.m., Monday, December 4, 2023, at the Bethany Primitive Baptist Church (280 Beth Road, New Market, AL 35761) with Pastor James Battle officiating. Interment will be in the William Bibb Crutcher Cemetery in New Market, AL. Mother Douglass will lie in repose one hour prior to funeral time.
Public viewing will be held from 2:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m., Sunday, December 3, 2023, and 8:30 until 11:00 a.m., Monday, December 4, 2023, at the Royal Funeral Home.
