LILLIE MAE OAKES BRASELL.Mae was born in Stampley, MS on April 5, 1922 to Albert Jackson and Annie May Raper Oakes. Her formative years were spent in Fayette, Charleston, and Water Valley where she attended school. She was a 1942 graduate of Water Valley High School. In December of 1941 she married the love of her life, Bert Gaston Brasell, Sr. They moved to Memphis where Gaston was employed and Mae graduated from Moler Beauty College. Gaston joined the Navy before World War II and they moved to Corpus Christi, TX, where Bert Gaston, Jr. was born in 1944. After Gaston was shipped out on the USS Clinton, Mae and "Skipper" moved back to Durant, MS to live with her parents and younger siblings. After the war, Mae and Gaston remained in Durant where they bought their first home and developed a small farming operation raising cattle and cotton. Betsy Carole was born in 1949 and Bonnie Claire was born in 1951. The family was active in the Durant United Methodist Church. In 1960, Gaston wastransferred with the Mississippi National Guard to Grenada, MS where they made their home for 42 years. As the granddaughter of a Methodist minister, Rev. J.W. Raper, Mae was active in Grace United Methodist Church in various capacities, especially the WSCS, now known as the United Methodist Women. She was also active on the Greenwood District level with the UMW. For years, she represented Grace as the delegate to the North Mississippi Conference and later, the Mississippi Conference. After Gaston's death in2000, Mae became a resident of The Orchard in Ridgeland, MS where she continued to enjoy life by sewing, traveling, and visiting family. Those who survive to cherish her memory include her children, Bert Gaston Brasell, Jr. (Diane) of Bartlett, TN, Betsy McKenzie (Jerry) of Ridgeland, MS, and Bonnie Dalton (Don) of Raleigh, NC; grandchildren, Bert Gaston Brasell III (Trey) of Cordova, TN, Brannon Heath Brasell of Memphis, TN, and Melissa Rebecca Poss of Atlanta, GA; great-grandchildren, Kaitlyn Noel and Michael Brasell ofPensacola, FL; great-granddogs, Spin, Read, and Georgia. Surviving siblings are Jack Oakes of Zionsville, IN, Tom Lewis Oakes ofMiddleburg, FL, Irene Alexander ofWater Valley, MS, Frances Downer of Natchez, MS and Bob Oakes of Fowler, CO. Also surviving are numerous nieces, nephews, friends, caregivers at Lakeland Nursing and Rehab and special caregivers, Sheeba and Ziyania Sharkey. Waiting to welcome her into heaven are Gaston, husband of 59 years; parents; brothers, Enlow, Bill, James, John Dudley, Alvin, Ben and sisters Dorothy Louise and Grace. Visitation will be held from 5-8 p.m. on Thursday evening, July 26 and a celebration of her life will be at 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon, July 27 at National Funeral Home in Grenada, MS. Burial will be at Oak Hill Cemetery in Water Valley following the chapel service. Memorials may be made to Grace United Methodist Church, 2315 Carrollton Road, Grenada, MS 38901, or to the American Cancer Society, 1599 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 3032 National Funeral Home 662-226-1621