Mamie Jarriel Collins

Mamie Jarriel Davis Collins, 98, of Collins died Monday, May 13, 2013, after a short illness. A lifelong resident of the Collins-Cobbtown community, she was the daughter of Joseph "Josie" and Alva Lynn Jarriel. She attended Cedar Creek School and was a 1933 Collins High School graduate. An active member of the community, she was at one time the central telephone operator for the Collins area. She was highly regarded because everyone knew she would deliver messages out in the country to families who did not have phones. In later years, she worked as a sewing machine operator at a clothing factory in Vidalia. Mrs. Collins was once a member of the only female quartet in the local singing convention. She has been a lifelong member of the Pine Grove Baptist Church. Living through the great depression and rationing era of World War II taught her to be resourceful. She was excellent at canning and preserving all types of fresh food and her family and friends reaped the bounty. But, her passion was quilting. She would sit for hours sewing fabric scraps together to make squares for her tops, and then work on an old fashioned frame to quilt by hand. Her quilts were masterful, functional works of art. Mrs. Mamie was the matriarch of a large family and is survived by a son, Leslie Davis and wife, Jan of Jacksonville; two daughters-in-law, Carolyn Coleman Davis of Nashville, TN and Marion Carter Davis of Jacksonville, FL; a son-in-law, Wilmer Beecher of Reidsville; 14 grandchildren, 33 great grandchildren and 23 great-great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents; two husbands, Bill Davis and Frank Collins; a daughter, Ila Jean Davis Beecher; two sons, Billy Davis and Jimmy Davis; a brother and sister, Joe Tyrus Jarriel and Nelwyn Jarriel Smith.

Funeral services will be conducted Thursday, 11:00 AM, at Pine Grove Baptist Church with Rev. Jim Rogers officiating. Burial will be in the Cedar Creek Cemetery. Visitation will be Wednesday, 6:00-8:30, at the funeral home. Twelve of her great grandsons will serve as pallbearers. Remembrances may be made to Pine Grove Baptist Church Building Fund, 3317 Pine Grove Church Road, Collins, GA 30421. Please sign guest book at www.kennedyfuneralhomechapels.com.

Kennedy Funeral Homes, Cobbtown Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.