Obituary of Willie Mae Tom

Willie Mae "Billie" (Hurst) Tom was born in Claiborne County, Tennessee on July 10, 1906. She was one of two daughters born to the late Lafayette Hurst and Loda (Bullard) Hurst. Willie Mae married Robert Sowders in Claiborne County and they would have one child, Judee Roberta Jewel. They moved to Monroe around 1929 when the paper mills began hiring. Willie Mae went to work as a waitress at the iconic Custer Family Restaurant, where she worked for many years. She was known to friends and family as "Billie". Billie eventually married Charles Tom and they made their home in Carleton. He passed away in 1962. Billie worked at Monroe Auto Equipment until she retired. After retirement she found that she was bored, and went to work at Bargain City in the house wares department where she stayed until the store closed. She had many friends and was well known and loved by her customers! Billie loved her family and was known as "Ganny" by her beloved grandchildren and great grandchildren. She never came to visit empty handed since she lived next door to Sanok Market where penny candy was abundant! She had a huge "sweet tooth" herself and had an endless supply of Peeps, Circus Peanuts and Pepsi Cola at all times. Her family recalls that she was not happy when Pepsi began using plastic bottles and was convinced it never tasted as good as when it was cold and right out of the glass bottles! She was the BEST babysitter and there was never a curfew when she was in charge. Her family would stop at her house on Sunday morning on the way home from church, and she always had a wonderful breakfast waiting for them. She will always be remembered for her fabulous fried chicken, okra stew and gingerbread made from scratch! She also loved going out to eat with the whole family or one on one - and she never let anyone else pay. She would often buy an entire box of Peppermint Patties as "dessert" on the car ride home. She will always be remembered as a HUGE fan of Elvis Presley! She had all of his records and saw all of his movies, some many times. She loved going to movies at any time, much to the delight of her granddaughters and their friends, and then later her great grandchildren. She was also a fan of WWF and would spend many a Saturday afternoon booing Dick Da Bruiser and cheering Gorgeous George. On the other side of the coin, she never missed the Lawrence Welk Show! Billie loved reading gossip magazines about her favorite stars and always referred to them by their first names. Billie was known for her love of animals and for taking in stray cats and dogs. Somehow, they always ended up at her house where she would take them in and make them her own. Billie, age 97, passed away peacefully on October 2, 2003 surrounded by her loved ones. Besides her parents and her husband, she was preceded in death by her sister: Adelaide "Mim" Nichols of Ft. Meade, FL and her half sister: Mabel Gross of Monroe; and a special nephew: Billy Gross. She leaves to treasure her memory, her daughter: Judee (Joe) Fleszar of Carleton; three grandchildren: Lyn (Art) Richardson of Luna Pier, Joni Brow and Joey Fleszar of Carleton; three great grandchildren: Jessica Dailey of Monroe, David W. Dailey II of Oscoda and Allison Fleszar of Carleton; and several nieces and nephews. Arrangements were entrusted to Bennett Funeral Service. A private service was held at Roselawn Memorial Park, where she was laid to rest. Memories and pictures may be shared at www.merklefs.com.