Sarah Pauline Simmons Busbee

Published 4:00 am Sunday, October 4, 2015

    Services for Sarah Pauline Simmons Busbee will be Monday at 2 p.m. at the United Methodist Church in Meridian.

    Mrs. Busbee, 98, went to her heavenly home on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015. Visitation for Mrs. Busbee, will be Monday beginning at 12 p.m. at Central United Methodist Church.

    A family graveside service will immediately follow the funeral at Magnolia Cemetery in Meridian. The services will be conducted by Rev. John Case, former pastor of Central United Methodist Church.

    Pallbearers will be Pauline’s six grandsons: Brad Busbee of Birmingham, Ala.; Kent Busbee, Jr. of Hammond, La., ; Mark Busbee of Dallas, Tex.; Michael Busbee of Denver, Colo.; Brent McCarty of New Orleans, La. ; and Peter Davidson of Charleston, S.C.

    Pauline, daughter of Fred and Eva Simmons, was born and raised in the Complete area of Meridian. She graduated from Meridian High School in 1936. She was on The Wildcat newspaper staff, and she wrote the senior class song for her graduating class.

    In 1936 and 1937, she attended Whitworth College in Brookhaven, MS, where she was involved in many clubs and activities: Class President, Round Table Honor English Society, Glee Club, President of the Drama Club, Secretary-Treasurer of the Honor Council, Y.W.C.A., Associate Editor of The Whistle Staff campus newspaper, I.R.C., and Delta Psi Omega. She was voted Miss Whitworth and May Queen by her fellow students.

    Pauline met Westley Floyd Busbee on a blind date at Weidmann’s Restaurant in Meridian, in 1936. They were married a year later at Central Methodist Church in Meridian. During their forty-five years together, they lived in Laurel; Memphis, Tenn.,; and Greenville, before finally settling in Meridian.

    During her lifetime she filled many roles, chief among which was being the mother of her nine children. The births of her children covered a span of 19 years. When her ninth child was born, her first born was in his second year of college. At one time, Pauline had the most unusual honor of having children attending the Meridian Public School System for twenty-five consecutive years, with children attending elementary, junior high, and high school all at the same time. She was the wife of a minister and, for many years, the manager of a family-owned apartment complex in Meridian.

    She was a member of the Samuel Dale Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was also an accomplished poet, having actively written since high school age. Her published book of poetry Heart Pine , 1993, celebrates her family and her lifetime of experiences and observations. She won many literary awards and attended many writing classes and seminars in her later years. She was a member of the Mississippi Poetry Society, the Alabama Writer’s Conclave, the Creative Writing Association, The Review Literary Magazine , The Gum Tree Celebration of Writing, The Writer’s Digest , and the Sowashee Writer’s Club, to name a few. She was also an accomplished traveler, having traveled quite extensively throughout the world with her husband, family, and friends.

    Pauline had three main loves in her life: her family, her poetry, and, most of all, her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. She had the unique ability to weave the three in and out of her life so that each was seen through the other. Her poetry was the twine that pulled and bound her family and her faith together. She remained active in church until she was no longer physically able to do so. Her dedication to Christ was her main source of daily strength and happiness. She devoted her life to loving and caring for her family and consistently teaching and practicing Biblical principles. The number of souls she led to Christ during her lifetime is literally countless. She planted that same love and knowledge of Christ in the hearts of her children, thus expanding Christ’s kingdom for His glory.

    Left to cherish her memory is her beloved family: son Dr. Westley F. Busbee, Jr. and wife Carol of Brandon, ; son Rush Busbee and wife Judy of Brandon; son Kent Busbee and wife Bonnie of Meridian; son Rev. Lane Busbee of Meridian; son Philip Busbee and wife Kathy of Meridian; daughter Robin Busbee McCarty and

husband Van of Meridian; daughter Jeannine Busbee Bradley and husband Ed of Winston-Salem, N.C.; and 16 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren.

    Heartfelt thanks and love go to the very special ladies who took such tender care of Pauline over the past several years. You and your devotion will always be

remembered.

    Pauline is preceded in death by her parents, Mims Frederick Simmons and Emma Evalina Cobb Simmons; her two sisters, Eva Louise Simmons Chambers and Fredna Earl Simmons Erickson; her husband, Westley Floyd Busbee, Sr.; her son David Mark Busbee; her daughter Sherry Ann Busbee; her daughter-in-law Gail Pace Busbee; her grandson Jerry Lane Busbee, Jr.; and her sisters-in-law, Lottie Busbee Hilbun and Opal Busbee Staples.

    It is Pauline’s request that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Central United Methodist Church, Meridian and Christ Community Church, Meridian.

    Family and friends may sign the online guestbook at robertbarhamffh.com.