AUGUSTA, Ga. - Thelma Lee Howard DeLoach, age 82, died peacefully on June 5, 2014, at University Hospital. She had suffered a long illness. Funeral services will be held from the chapel of Chance and Hydrick Funeral Directors this Monday, June 9, 2014, at 2:00 PM. The Reverend Keith Cox and the Reverend Matthew Nelson will officiate the service. Interment will follow in Hillcrest Memorial Park. Mrs. DeLoach was born on May 17, 1932, in Augusta, Georgia, to Ollie Thornton Howard, Sr. and Callie Mae Howard. A life-long resident of Augusta, she attended Tubman High School, retired from Murray Biscuit Company, and attended Cokesbury United Methodist Church (UMC), and later, Burns Memorial UMC. She was an active member of the United Methodist Women. Mrs. DeLoach was a devoted wife, a loving mother, a faithful friend, and a wonderful grandmother. Hospitality was her gift. She was often found hosting a church ladies group or a special family event in her home. She enjoyed being in her yard, chatting with neighbors over the fence, and if the weather wasn't nice, sitting in her cozy kitchen talking with friends and family on the phone. She is most well known for spoiling her grandkids on "Grandma Days." She loved humming along to the old hymns like "Because He Lives" and "How Great Thou Art," tending her garden and flowers, and making people feel special. She was certainly a lovely lady. She is survived by her husband, William (Bill) DeLoach; brother, Ollie Thornton Howard, Jr. (Monna); sister, Louise Holt Parham; daughter, Susan DeLoach Timmerman (Glenn) of Wilmington, NC; son, M. Patrick DeLoach (Katherine) of Augusta, GA; grandchildren Anne DeLoach Nelson (Matthew), Rachel Vivian Timmerman (Steven O'Connell), James Patrick DeLoach (Leigh), Michelle Leigh Timmerman, and Joseph Mobley DeLoach (Maggie); and great-grandchildren, Rhys DeLoach, Caleb Nelson, Peyton DeLoach, Sarah Nelson, Tatum O'Connell, and Phoebe O'Connell. Her father, Ollie Thornton Howard, Sr.; her mother, Callie Mae Howard; and her sisters, Ruth Ready and Marian Amerson, preceded Mrs. DeLoach in death. The family will receive friends Sunday from 3:00 until 5:00 at the funeral home. Chance & Hydrick Funeral Directors, 2502 Richmond Hill Rd., Augusta, GA 30906. www.chanceandhydrick.com Published in The Augusta Chronicle from June 7 to June 8, 2014