Mary Ida Shirley Bush Maxwell
Our yellow rose of Texas, our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great-grandmother, sister, aunt and friend, Mary Ida Shirley Bush Maxwell, 84, of Sullivan Farms/Doyline, Louisiana, died peacefully in the arms of God on Friday, April 17, 2015, in Winnfield, LA.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 21, 2015 at Holloway Baptist Church, Hickory Grove, Louisiana with Rev. Scott Sullivan and Dr. Jack West officiating. Interment will be in the church cemetery under the direction of Gallagher Funeral Home, Ball, Louisiana.
Visitation will be held on Monday from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Gallagher Funeral Home, Ball, La. and on Tuesday from 10 am till service time at Holloway Baptist Church in Hickory Grove, La..
Mary Ida was born Sept. 10, 1930, Kerrville, Texas, to Clifford and Mary Shirley. She was a talented but humble gardener (her flowers still bloom) and seamstress. She could and did make everything for everyone imaginable, including bibs for nursing homes.
She was retired from Pinecrest State School in Pineville, La. Later she was a church and hospice volunteer and also served as a Foster Grandparent. She was a member of First Baptist Church, Haughton, Louisiana.
Her big-as-Texas heart and her strong capable hands continually blessed the world around her and as grandson Scott once observed, she well exemplified the Bible’s definition of having the “true heart of a servant”. She thought the world of her kids, grandkids and great grandkids, and the legacy of that unconditional love will always be unrivaled by any other kind of inheritance on earth.
She is survived by four children: Kathleen Ada Bush Paulk (Kirby), Mary Irene Bush Sullivan (James), Jerome Franklin Bush (Sharon Chaudoir) and Darlene Annette Bush Tucker (Rick); Twelve grandchildren: Kurtis Paulk, Kerry Paulk, Kristina Paulk Hickman, Michael Sullivan, Scott Sullivan, Suzanne Sullivan Wilson, Autumn Bush Altamirano…Arwen Bush Robertson…Dell Bush…Chet Tucker, Deann Tucker and Johnny Tucker. She also is survived by 27 Great Grandchildren and 11 Great, Great Grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by the father of her children, Ellus Franklin Bush, a granddaughter, Kamii Paulk Dauzat and a granddaughter-in-law, Anita Paulk.
Pallbearers will be Michael Sullivan, Kerry Paulk, Kurtis Paulk, Dennis Hickman, Reid Wilson, and Ethan Sullivan.
There are not enough words to express our thanks and love to Shani Fallis of Winnfield. She lovingly cared for Mom more like a friend than a caretaker.
We owe a mountain of gratitude to Autumn Leaves Nursing Home in Winnfield, La., who helped care so faithfully for our mother throughout the last year of her life and who always respected our advocacy on behalf of our mom and who helped dignify her end of life so well. Just like us, they didn’t always know the exact right thing to say or do in every single situation where the complicated care our mother needed was concerned but from administration to nurses to CNA’s to therapists to housekeeping to coordinators to the kitchen staff, their hearts were always in the right place, and you cannot ask for more. Also, thanks to Dr. Collier, who always treated our mom with kindness and respect.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Holloway Baptist Church building fund, 7368 Hickory Grove Rd., Deville, LA. 71328
Friends may post online messages of condolence for the Maxwell family by visiting www.gallagherfh.com.