"Tootsie" LaVerle Marie Rees Jameson

"Tootsie" LaVerle Marie Rees Jameson

Born June 3, 1929 to William Albert Mow and Drudie Mamie Kincaid in Coleman County, Texas, died Thursday, September 3, 2015 also in Coleman.

She is survived by one son, Jimmy Rees and wife, LuAnn, of Midland and one daughter, Brenda Stovall, and husband, Marc of Coleman; one brother, H.J. Mow and wife June of Clyde; 4 granddaughters, Amanda McCulloch, Jennifer Sherrill, Mady Culverhouse & Holly Stovall; one grandson, James Rees; 6 great grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews, along with many, many friends.

Preceded in death by her parents, her first husband, R.H. (Bobby) Rees; her second husband, G.A. Jameson; 2 brothers, Vernon Mow & W.A. (Dub) Mow and 2 sisters, Therma Brown (Brownie) & Pauline Donaghey (Poppy).

Tootsie married Bobby Rees in 1949 in Big Lake, Texas where they lived most of their married life until Bobby's death in 1977. She and G.A. married in 1978 also making Big Lake their home until G.A.'s death in 1989. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Big Lake. In her younger years, she was a member of The Big Lake Garden Club and Beta Sigma Phi.

Tootsie loved life...enjoying cooking and royally entertaining in her immaculately kept homes. She loved antiques - collecting them, decorating with them, buying and selling them (actually, more buying than selling). Tootsie could tell you the name and story behind any and every antique that had been given to her or that she acquired... whether she and Bobby or Brenda had found them in a store or dug them out of a cellar or even a trash pile! The stories she would tell were as interesting as the pieces themselves.

In 1993, Tootsie moved back to Coleman where she and Brenda went into the antique business. Together, they owned and operated "Tootsie's Antiques" for almost 20 years. She was an avid collector for most of her life. Her love of antiques was only trumped by her love for clothes, shoes and jewelry! Tootsie was always "dressed up" where ever she went - to the grocery store or to a fancy restaurant. Dillard's is going to miss her almost as much as her family.

Along with her family, Tootsie enjoyed going fishing just about anywhere and hunting at the ranch. For many years, she had a vacation home on Lake Coleman that was a gathering place for everyone, friends and family alike. Most all summers were spent fishing from the barge, swimming in the lake, and cooking catfish, which was one of her favorites. Hunting seasons were spent at the ranch in Fort McKavett sitting by the campfire, cooking and eating and drinking beer! Tootsie did not hunt but she enjoyed playing poker, cooking for everyone, and enjoying the successes of the hunters. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren referred to Tootsie as "Raggy" for the past 40 years. Her granddaughters Amanda, Jennifer, and Mady learned to drive at the ranch with Raggy in the passenger seat yelling "floor it" with each driver doing donuts in a large field in a pieced-together pickup called Old Paint. The girls enjoyed time at the ranch playing practical jokes, oftentimes enabled by Raggy (such as the wash tub in the tank or snipe hunting in the dark).

Brenda recalls something that her Mother said a few weeks ago that still makes her smile... "Mother was not well, sort of fading in & out of consciousness. I told her that it was okay to go if she was ready because Daddy was there, Granny & Grand dad, Brownie, Poppy, Dub... and I'll bet they are having a party... Mother then spoke without opening her eyes (or missing a beat), saying 'I can't go yet... I don't have my beer box!' " This is the Tootsie that we all know and love!

In lieu flowers, memorials can be made in her name to Loaves & Fishes Christian Family Ministries which provides hot meals and perishable food items to those in need in Coleman (http://cfmcoleman.org/services/loaves-and-fish/) or to First United Methodist Church of Big Lake, 501 N California, Big Lake, TX 76932.

Funeral service will be 2:00 p.m. Saturday, September 5, in Stevens Funeral Home Chapel, 400 W. Pecan Street, Coleman, Texas.

Graveside committal service will be 2:00 p.m. Sunday, September 6, at Glen Rest Cemetery in Big Lake, under the direction of Stevens Funeral Home.

Please leave condolences for the family at www.livingmemorials.com.