Ms Otis Washington

September 26, 1926 - January 18, 2021

https://livestream.com/accounts/7325565/otiswashington https://www.flipsnack.com/alcbf/otis-mae-washington.html A Life of Trials, Tribulations, Love, Joy, Sharing and Giving “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.” −Proverbs: 3-5. Otis Mae Williams Washington (Mother), was born to Odis and Rosie (Callins) Williams in Littig, Travis County, Texas on September 26, 1926. After living a long and fulfilling life, Mother passed away peacefully in her sleep at 12:38 a.m. in the SPJST Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation in Taylor, Texas. When Rosie was almost eight months pregnant with the couple’s second baby, she received word that her husband Odis, walking home from work one night, had been hit and killed by a train. Two months later, Rosie had a beautiful baby girl and named their daughter Otis Mae, after her father Odis. With a new baby and a toddler, Rosie moved her children to Thrall, Texas to be closer to her family. Rosie became a member of Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church where she later met a new member named Charlie Thomas. Rosie and Charlie became good friends and when Otis Mae was about a year old the friends fell in love and were married. Charlie moved his new family to Taylor and Otis and James were happy to be back with their maternal family. When Otis was four and her older brother was six, their mother, Rosie became very ill and soon passed away. Charlie soon remarried and felt it was best for Otis and James to be raised by Pearl, their maternal grandmother. Otis cried a lot and she and James missed their mother and stepfather who was raising them as his own. Otis’ grandmother sat her on her lap while James sat in front of her and told them she and their grandfather would take care of them. Grandmother Pearl loved and raised her grandchildren as if they were her very own children. After moving in with Grandmother Pearl, whom Otis called ‘Mama’ like her sister/aunts and brother/uncles did, she was told she had to attend church, school, and do chores around the house like everyone else. The family united with Zion Chapel Missionary Church when Otis was 10 years old. Otis was very active in the youth activities where she was a Sunday School Scholar and knew that Bible Study was the only way to learn about being a Christian. Grandmother Pearl took in a second grandson, Edward E. (Uncle Sonny) Williams, when his mother also passed away. Otis and her sibling/aunt Gladys, who happened to be only a few months older than her became good friends and almost inseparable just as the same happened with cousins Edward and James. Otis and Gladys did everything together. The only thing was Gladys loved dancing and Otis didn’t and often wanted to stay home to read. Sometimes they would get into it about her not wanting to go out to the teenage dances at the Community Center. Either they both had to go, or they both had to stay at home because they had to leave home together and return home together. Otis often got the better deal when she agreed to go out, because Gladys would do Otis’ chores for her in exchange. They continued their close sister/aunt friendship throughout the years by visiting each other and more recently thru the technology of Facet Time with the help of their children until Gladys passed away in October of 2020. From the Family Otis Mae (Mother) met the love of her life, Leslie “Jim” Washington through church. He was your typical young man. The first night Leslie saw Otis, he wanted to walk her and Gladys home. She wasn’t having it and pushed him into the ditch. He was smitten and knew he’d found the girl for him. Finally, one night she agreed to let him walk her and Gladys home from church. She too became smitten and from then on, he started walking her home every Wednesday and Sunday from Church not caring if it was day or night. They were married November 24, 1942 and to this union five children were born. Leslie Mae, Lee Arthur “Brother”, twins: Lorene & Corene and Delores. Growing up, you could often hear her praying for her children...asking God to “Please take care her children and to keep them close to Him. Please Lord, please leave Leslie and me on earth long enough to see them grow into productive adults, doing good for themselves and helping them to learn what love is.” Taking a page from her grandmother, Mother told her own children that here were two things they had to do and that was attend church, and go to school. She would threaten us with two things: and that was First1): “I don’t want you to force me into whipping you every step of the way to school.” Second was: 2) “I don’t ever want to have to walk you to school and sit in the classroom with you.” She took pride in maintaining her home and raising her children. Money may have been tight, but there was an abundance of love and family. On the weekends, the family would pack up in a 1941 Chevy and go to Elgin to spend the day with family members. Other times, she would say it is time for us to go to Austin or San Antonio to visit with family there too. On our way out of town, we’d stop at Taylor Meat Market to pick up Tip-Top, Rat Trap cheese, saltiness, and cinnamon pecan rolls to eat along the way. On June 2, 1965, Leslie, our dad, slipped away from us and, Mother was left to raise three of her five children that were still at home. As a member of Zion Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, Mother served in the Senior Choir, Church Clerk, a member of Junior Mission and Senior Mission. Mother loved God, her family, and her church. She was also a member of the City Wide Choir and mother for the O. L. Price High School Class from 1957 to 1961. Mother was the type of woman, who as a wife and a mother, and still had time for others. Mother loved to spend her free time with her family…especially on Sunday afternoons after church when we gathered at her house. When Mother got up to wash the dishes, we knew it was time for us to start leaving because as much as she loved us, she also loved the quietness. She loved watching wrestling, football, baseball, basketball and most of all - roller derby! Mother was known to always have several gallons of ‘Nanny’s Tea’ that she shared with her children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, friends and even her sanitation guys every Monday when they emptied her trash can. Often, you would find her with a puzzle in hand while country music was playing softly in the background or a game was playing on her TV. Mother was preceded by her husband: Leslie; son: Lee Arthur “Brother” Washington; parents: Odis and Rosie; grandparents: Pearl & Albert; her aunts/sisters she grew up with: Beatrice Callins-Hargrove, Maggie Callins-Williams, Hattie M. Callins-Moore, Henrietta Callins-Griffin; Lucille Wesley-Tealer, Gladys M. Wesley-Johnson; her uncles/brothers she grew up with: Joe Callins, Jessie Callins, Willie Callins, Willie Callins, Bill Callins, Peter Callins, Johnny Callins; her cousin/brother she grew up with: Edward E. Williams, Sr.; father-in-law-: Walter Aldridge; mother-in-law: Hattie Ora Lee Hatch Aldridge; brother-in-law: Shelvie Aldridge, Sr.; nephews: Walter Aldridge and Michael Aldridge. Cherishing her memories always are her children: Leslie Mae Hill (Donald Ray, Sr.), Lorene Mays (L.D.), of Taylor, TX; Corene Tanksley (Darrell) of Pflugerville, TX and Delores Washington of Round Rock, TX; Grandchildren: Donald R. Hill, Jr. (Jennifer), Reginal Hill (Johanna), Regina Hill, Darrell Washington, Fredrick Washington Blue, Tara Washington, Alicia Rice (Marc), David Henderson, III (Sabrina), Kimberly Hill, La’Ronda Washington, LaNay Abogah (Kwame) and Dietrick Benson; 28 great randchildren; 11 great-great grandchildren; sister-in-law: Eva Clark; nephews: James E. Williams, Jr. (Mary), Shelvie Aldridge, Jr., Donald Aldridge and Desmond Aldridge; nieces: Diane Adkinson, Joyce Aldridge, Idella Fredrick; and Bobbie Griffin; plus numerous friends considered family – Lenard Moore; Soraida Yanez and Elester Joe Williams, Nell Shaw, Zelma Neal, Brenda Gault, Hazel Washington, Shirley Kelley, Barbara Woolridge, Gwen Winn, and Beverly Walker who are the children she loved dearly