Willie Mae Benson

Willie Mae Benson was born into time on April 2, 1933 in the Holly Grove Community of Okolona, Arkansas. She was the daughter of Willie and Beulah Livingston Bailey.

Willie Mae was a simple woman who enjoyed the simple things that life offered. She possessed a charismatic spirit and a cunning, yet pleasant smile. She was a surrogate mother to many and never met a stranger.

She was preceded in death by her parents; one sister, Jo Mae Gary, ten brothers, Thurman “Fat” Bailey (2006), Lacy “Love” Bailey (2006), DeWitt Bailey (2009), Jay B. Bailey, Jimmy Lee Bailey, Jessie Bailey, Herman Bailey, Bub Bailey, Frank J. Bailey (2013) and Joe Albert Bailey (2014). On Sunday, January 19, 2020, after a full life of 87 years she went home to be with the Lord.

Those left to cherish his memory are one sister, Dorothy Phifer of St. Louis, MO; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. The goal of life: simple, but not empty.