Lois O. Collum left this earth Wednesday morning, April 26, 2023, at the age of 92. She passed peacefully in the presence of loved ones following a brief bout with pneumonia during a hospital stay in Greenville.
A visitation will be held at Boone Funeral Home in Leland on Saturday, April 29 at 10:00 AM with a funeral service at 11:00. Graveside service and burial will be held later that day at Clarkson Cemetery near Eupora at 3:00 PM.
Born March 14, 1931, in Ruleville to a poor farming family, Lois Ouida Collum (née Lollar) was the second of four daughters born to Jim Tom and Eunice Lollar and spent her formative years doing farmwork at Gooden Lake near Belzoni. Though she completed no formal education, Lois had a natural instinct for math and finance and later moved to Jackson where she was head bookkeeper for Sunflower Grocery Store. She lived in Jackson for most of her life and operated her own successful daycare service, taking care of infants and toddlers. Affectionately known to her customers and their children as “Mama Lois,” she provided this service for more than two decades and was so widely regarded that many of the babies that she cared for would later hire her to take care of their own children. After her retirement, she continued to reside in Jackson, avidly tending her garden and keeping house when not traveling with her long-time companion Pat Norton. Lois spent her final years living in Greenville with her devoted son Harold Jr., daughter-in-law Hope, and grandson Will, bringing light into their lives each day she was with us.
She was preceded in death by sisters Florence Brewer and Helen Sumrall, beloved brothers-in-law Troy Sumrall and Coy Avent, former husbands John “Sonny” Collum, Sr. and Cleveland Hendrick, and her soulmate Patrick J. Norton as well as a grandson, Jeff. She is survived by daughter Lyn Larae (James) of Brandon, sons John Harold Collum, Jr. (Hope) and Timothy Wayne Collum, both of Greenville and sister Jimmie Avent of West Point. Also, among the bereaved are Lois’ adored grandchildren Lisa, Lauren, Josh, Johnathan, and Will, and eight great-grandchildren as well as several great-great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.
The family requests condolences and flowers be sent in care of Boone Funeral Home in Leland or that any memorials be made to a charity of your choice.