Elmera Jane Lee Maxwell
November 28, 1914 – February 21, 2016
Funeral services for Elmera Jane Lee Maxwell, 101, of Cairo, GA, are at 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, February 23, 2016, at the First United Methodist Church, Cairo, GA. Rev. Wayne McDonald and Rev. Whit Byram will officiate. Services will conclude at the church. Private interment will be in Tired Creek Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, Whigham, GA. Mrs. Maxwell passed away at Woodleaf Senior Care, Thomasville, GA, on Sunday, February 21, 2016.
Honorary pallbearers will be Jimmy Green, Carroll Hopkins, Keith Harrison, Carl Harrison, Tommy Hopkins, Bobby Williams, Jimmy Hammett, Walter Maxwell and William Connell.
Mrs. Maxwell was born on November 28, 1914, in Cairo, GA to the late George Arthur Lee and Effie Rehberg Lee. Her father died when she was only two years old, and William Alvie Lee later became her father. On December 9, 1937, she married Ellis Laverne Maxwell, who preceded her in death on April 14, 2004. Mrs. Elmera was a loving homemaker, having lived her entire life in the Reno Community where she was a long time member of Bethel United Methodist Church and United Methodist Women. She and her husband were active in the Reno School activities and in the preservation of the school building. She was a wonderful cook and enjoyed sharing her cakes and cookies with her friends. She faithfully loved and supported her family, her church, and the Reno Community.
Survivors include: daughter, Betty M. Phelps (Dr. Dewey Phelps) of Cairo, GA; grandson, Heath Maxwell Phelps (Tara) of Valdosta, GA, granddaughter, Angie Phelps Robinson (Dr. Robie Robinson) of Amelia, VA; great-grandchildren, Ellis Claire Phelps, and Maxwell McKinnon Phelps both of Valdosta, GA, Nathan Robinson, Barak Robinson, Abigail Robinson, all of Amelia VA; sisters, Maurice Lee Connell of Cairo, GA, Martha Lee Harrison (Buryl) of Climax, GA; and a host of nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by: parents; husband, step-father, William Alvie Lee; sister, Burma Lee Connell; brothers-in-law, Bill Connell and L. B. Connell.
Memorials may be made in Mrs. Maxwell’s memory to: Bethel United Methodist Church, or Reno Community Center, both c/o Margarite Maxwell, 150 Byron St., Cairo, GA, 39828.
The family will receive friends in the Fellowship Hall of First United Methodist Church immediately following the service.
