Jessie Mae King

Funeral services for Mrs. Jessie Mae (Knight) King will be conducted at 11:00 AM Wednesday morning, November 22, 2023, at Saulters Moore Funeral Chapel with the Reverend Dennis Davis officiating, assisted by Reverend Ray Bowling.  Private interment rites will be conducted Wednesday afternoon at Daniel R. King Cemetery.  Mrs. King, age 98, entered into the eternal rest of her Lord Monday morning, November 20, 2023, just 10 days shy of 99 years of age.   Saulters Moore Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements.

The family will receive friends Wednesday morning, 2 hours prior to the funeral service, beginning at 9:00 AM until 11:00 AM at Saulters Moore Funeral Home.

Mrs. King will be carried to her final rest by Mark King, Jerry Kirkley, Dale Polk, Tony Martin, Jimmy Weeks and Mikel Pope.  Honorary Pallbearers include Herman Reid, Murphy Dean Reid and Dr. Martin Harvey.

Born on December 1, 1924, Jessie Mae was the oldest sibling of five children born to Sylvester and Ruthie Ainsworth Knight.  She and her siblings worked alongside their daddy picking cotton on the family land as a means to survive.  

She married Vernie Ellis King in April 1946 and they resided in Jefferson Davis County, where she lived the remainder of her life. Their only daughter, Lola, was their pride and joy.

As a young child, Jessie Mae suffered a gunshot wound after she and friends wandered onto someone's property.  She struggled through multiple surgeries from this injury and was close to losing her life on several occasions.  She spent many years working at garment factories, where she worked long hours as a seamstress.

After retiring in November 1982, she could be found most days in her many flower gardens.  She had a green thumb and could root any flower or plant to become a beautiful treasure she delighted in sharing with others.

She had a sharp wit and loved to read and was talented at crocheting and most needle point.  She loved to share her doilies with those who visited her home and complimented her work.  She was an excellent cook and anyone who visited her home was quickly offered a sample of something she had just baked.

Over the last five years, she has been under the loving care of her daughter, Lola, and son-in-law, Rev. Albert Reid.  Her family was her most beloved treasure and she doted on her only two grandchildren, Dean and Carla.  Though her health was failing, "Mamaw King" as she was known to most, remained strong.  Through her, we know what resilience and perseverance truly looked like.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Sylvester and Ruthie Ainsworth Knight; siblings, Calvin Knight, Opal Burnett, Louie Dell Polk and Audrey Wilson and her husband, Vernie King.  She is survived by her daughter, Lola Reid; son-in-law, Rev. Albert Reid; grandchildren, Dean (Michele) Reid, Carla Reid Thornhill; great-grandchildren, Murphy Dean Reid, Shelbie Reid, Ellie Reid and Maley Thornhill.