Note by Stephanie Kauffroth Spencer:
Etta Johns was my great-aunt. My brother, George, and I called her "Waa", a name she coined as she always responded to our cries when we were little. Due to the death of her sister, Hattie (my grandmother), when my mother was only 14 months old, Etta took on the responsiblity of raising her little niece. She always dressed her in impeccable, white starched, frilly dresses and expected her to be "seen and not heard" - a common method of child-rearing in that era. Etta was an excellent seamstress and supported herself through her many clients. She even sewed ornate beading on lavish fabrics for the famed Mobile Mardi Gras Court. She was an excellent cook and I remember well the flavor and smell of her delicious Corn Pudding. Once a year, Etta turned the kitchen into a winery and produced homemade scuppernong grape wine. I remember on hot summer days, going with her to the country to pick wild blackberrys and tasting the warm, sweet fruit. She wore her very long reddish hair, which never grayed, up in a bun. In later years her favorite pasttime was Bingo. In her 80's, she would pull her large Plymouth automobile out into the road and drive slowly the short distance to the Bingo game. On her last full night on this earth, she attended her game and drove home at the age of 82.
Obituary from the Mobile Register, Tuesday, June 29, 1971:
LOUIS
Mrs. Etta Johns Louis - A native of Chipley, Fla., resident of Mobile, Ala. died in a local hospital Saturday, June 26, 1971, at 8:46 p.m. She is survived by two sisters, Mrs. Sam (Arvie) Williamson, Mobile, Ala., Mrs. W. W. (Beth) Keener, Mobile, Ala.; one brother, Curtis L. Johns, Mobile, Ala.; nieces, nephews and other relatives. Funeral services will be held from Blackburn Funeral Home, Chipley, Fla. Tuesday, June 29, 1971, at 2 p.m. Interment will be in Hard Labor Cemetery. Funeral arrangements by Radney Funeral Home, 3155 Dauphin Street Extension, west of Sage Avenue.
Etta Johns was my great-aunt. My brother, George, and I called her "Waa", a name she coined as she always responded to our cries when we were little. Due to the death of her sister, Hattie (my grandmother), when my mother was only 14 months old, Etta took on the responsiblity of raising her little niece. She always dressed her in impeccable, white starched, frilly dresses and expected her to be "seen and not heard" - a common method of child-rearing in that era. Etta was an excellent seamstress and supported herself through her many clients. She even sewed ornate beading on lavish fabrics for the famed Mobile Mardi Gras Court. She was an excellent cook and I remember well the flavor and smell of her delicious Corn Pudding. Once a year, Etta turned the kitchen into a winery and produced homemade scuppernong grape wine. I remember on hot summer days, going with her to the country to pick wild blackberrys and tasting the warm, sweet fruit. She wore her very long reddish hair, which never grayed, up in a bun. In later years her favorite pasttime was Bingo. In her 80's, she would pull her large Plymouth automobile out into the road and drive slowly the short distance to the Bingo game. On her last full night on this earth, she attended her game and drove home at the age of 82.
Obituary from the Mobile Register, Tuesday, June 29, 1971:
LOUIS
Mrs. Etta Johns Louis - A native of Chipley, Fla., resident of Mobile, Ala. died in a local hospital Saturday, June 26, 1971, at 8:46 p.m. She is survived by two sisters, Mrs. Sam (Arvie) Williamson, Mobile, Ala., Mrs. W. W. (Beth) Keener, Mobile, Ala.; one brother, Curtis L. Johns, Mobile, Ala.; nieces, nephews and other relatives. Funeral services will be held from Blackburn Funeral Home, Chipley, Fla. Tuesday, June 29, 1971, at 2 p.m. Interment will be in Hard Labor Cemetery. Funeral arrangements by Radney Funeral Home, 3155 Dauphin Street Extension, west of Sage Avenue.
Note by Stephanie Kauffroth Spencer:
Etta Johns was my great-aunt. My brother, George, and I called her "Waa", a name she coined as she always responded to our cries when we were little. Due to the death of her sister, Hattie (my grandmother), when my mother was only 14 months old, Etta took on the responsiblity of raising her little niece. She always dressed her in impeccable, white starched, frilly dresses and expected her to be "seen and not heard" - a common method of child-rearing in that era. Etta was an excellent seamstress and supported herself through her many clients. She even sewed ornate beading on lavish fabrics for the famed Mobile Mardi Gras Court. She was an excellent cook and I remember well the flavor and smell of her delicious Corn Pudding. Once a year, Etta turned the kitchen into a winery and produced homemade scuppernong grape wine. I remember on hot summer days, going with her to the country to pick wild blackberrys and tasting the warm, sweet fruit. She wore her very long reddish hair, which never grayed, up in a bun. In later years her favorite pasttime was Bingo. In her 80's, she would pull her large Plymouth automobile out into the road and drive slowly the short distance to the Bingo game. On her last full night on this earth, she attended her game and drove home at the age of 82.
Obituary from the Mobile Register, Tuesday, June 29, 1971:
LOUIS
Mrs. Etta Johns Louis - A native of Chipley, Fla., resident of Mobile, Ala. died in a local hospital Saturday, June 26, 1971, at 8:46 p.m. She is survived by two sisters, Mrs. Sam (Arvie) Williamson, Mobile, Ala., Mrs. W. W. (Beth) Keener, Mobile, Ala.; one brother, Curtis L. Johns, Mobile, Ala.; nieces, nephews and other relatives. Funeral services will be held from Blackburn Funeral Home, Chipley, Fla. Tuesday, June 29, 1971, at 2 p.m. Interment will be in Hard Labor Cemetery. Funeral arrangements by Radney Funeral Home, 3155 Dauphin Street Extension, west of Sage Avenue.
Etta Johns was my great-aunt. My brother, George, and I called her "Waa", a name she coined as she always responded to our cries when we were little. Due to the death of her sister, Hattie (my grandmother), when my mother was only 14 months old, Etta took on the responsiblity of raising her little niece. She always dressed her in impeccable, white starched, frilly dresses and expected her to be "seen and not heard" - a common method of child-rearing in that era. Etta was an excellent seamstress and supported herself through her many clients. She even sewed ornate beading on lavish fabrics for the famed Mobile Mardi Gras Court. She was an excellent cook and I remember well the flavor and smell of her delicious Corn Pudding. Once a year, Etta turned the kitchen into a winery and produced homemade scuppernong grape wine. I remember on hot summer days, going with her to the country to pick wild blackberrys and tasting the warm, sweet fruit. She wore her very long reddish hair, which never grayed, up in a bun. In later years her favorite pasttime was Bingo. In her 80's, she would pull her large Plymouth automobile out into the road and drive slowly the short distance to the Bingo game. On her last full night on this earth, she attended her game and drove home at the age of 82.
Obituary from the Mobile Register, Tuesday, June 29, 1971:
LOUIS
Mrs. Etta Johns Louis - A native of Chipley, Fla., resident of Mobile, Ala. died in a local hospital Saturday, June 26, 1971, at 8:46 p.m. She is survived by two sisters, Mrs. Sam (Arvie) Williamson, Mobile, Ala., Mrs. W. W. (Beth) Keener, Mobile, Ala.; one brother, Curtis L. Johns, Mobile, Ala.; nieces, nephews and other relatives. Funeral services will be held from Blackburn Funeral Home, Chipley, Fla. Tuesday, June 29, 1971, at 2 p.m. Interment will be in Hard Labor Cemetery. Funeral arrangements by Radney Funeral Home, 3155 Dauphin Street Extension, west of Sage Avenue.
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