Willie Mae Poe
Willie Mae Poe passed away on Tuesday, September 29, 2020, in Brownwood, Texas. Her graveside service will be at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 3, 2020, at the Breckenridge Cemetery under the direction of the staff of Melton-Kitchens Funeral Home. Don Harvey will officiate the service.
Willie Mae Poe may have been her full name, but everyone knew her as either Mae or Nannie. Mae was born on Jan 17, 1931, in Santa Anna, Texas, to parents Ira Lee and Cora Lee Copeland. Their family consisted of seven boys and three girls! At a young age, Mae fell off the Santa Anna Mountain. Later in life, when she would reminisce about the fall – head-first off that mountain – she would laugh and say, “I left half of my brain up there!”
Mae married her husband, Bill Poe, on November 21, 1960, and raised their daughter Kathey together. She and Bill lived a happy life together, having been married 38 years, until his passing on July 9, 1998. After his passing, Mae moved in with Kathey and her husband, Jon, where she lived until the time of Kathey’s passing in 2018. She transitioned to a senior living apartment until September of this year, when she moved into Songbird Lodge in Brownwood.
Mae would start off her early mornings with her Maxwell House cup of coffee, a cigarette, and a romance novel in hand. Though she enjoyed those daily things, her passion was shopping. She would say, “Let’s go shopping!” only to out walk anyone that was with her as they strolled through Bealls and Walmart. Even if she already had three of the same thing, if she saw another one, she’d undoubtedly get it. Shopping was something that brought her immense joy in life!
She really loved going to yard sales with Kathey. They would find trinkets of all kinds, items she affectionately called her “what-nots,” which were on display all over her residence. And when talking about those items to family and friends, you could see her light up when she pointed to something and said, “Do you know, I got that for two dollars?!”
When out shopping, she enjoyed being dressed to the T: a great outfit, hair fixed, nails polished, makeup on, and jewelry on full display. But on the days she wasn’t out shopping, she would be at the house enjoying her favorite TV shows: Days of Our Lives, The High Chaparral, and Gunsmoke starring Matt Dillon.
Mae was preceded in death by her husband Bill Poe, daughter Kathey, parents, one sister, and six brothers.
She is survived by her daughters Lee White of Breckenridge and Glenda Petree of Justin, Texas; sister Lois Nowlain of Rochelle, Texas; brother Gerald Copeland of Clute, Texas; along with eight grandchildren (Dusty Petree, Teresa Barrow, Cody Petree, Loyd White, Shonda Wood, Kimberly White, Billie Jean Harvey, and Scotty Williams); 16 great-grandchildren (JT Wood, Zak Wood, Kayla Wood, BreAnna White, Jacoby White, Brayden White, Ezekial Collins, Tylen Collins, Sammy Harvey, Kennedy Williams, Miracle Petree, Tanner Petree, Caterina Barrow, Zenus Barrow, Riley Petree, and Mason Petree); four great-great-grandchildren (Ezra Wood, Lilly Hash, Lilly Lunger, and Mia Lunger); as well as a multitude of friends.
Pallbearers include JT Wood, Zak Wood, Jacoby White, Brayden White, Ezekiel Collins, Tylen Collins, and Sam Harvey.
In lieu of flowers, memorials in Mae’s name can be made to Meals on Wheels and can be left at the Melton-Kitchens Funeral Home office. Condolences can be made online at meltonkitchens.com.
