Emelyn Weissinger Lilley, 95, died Sunday, September 23, 2018, after a brief illness.
Emelyn was born in Cary, MS, on August 17, 1923, to Eugene Liddell and Alice Cato Weissinger. She moved with her family to Clinton when she was 13 years old and soon after joined First United Methodist Church in Clinton where she was an active member for 82 years. While attending Clinton High School, she met the love of her life, Jack Wilson Lilley. They dated throughout high school and college and married on September 26, 1943. Together they raised four sons in the home where Jack had been born and raised. Emelyn was a proud and loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.
In high school, Emelyn excelled in basketball as a forward and in track, establishing and holding several records and winning a State Championship in the 75 yard dash. She was also a member of the Clinton High School Band, in which she played flute and served as drum major. At Hinds Junior College, she studied chemistry and home economics. During WWII she worked as an assistant to an ophthalmologist at a VA Clinic in Jackson. Emelyn was a talented seamstress and an excellent cook who shared her skills with others through the local Home Demonstration Club, and once appeared on TV, with her mother as her assistant, to give a demonstration on how to make Swedish tea cakes. She also competed in activities of that organization and won numerous awards. Emelyn also served as a volunteer with the Hinds County Soil and Water Conservation District. She loved preparing family meals, hosting events, and caring for her grandchildren, who called her "Nenie." She was an avid reader and never met a cat she couldn't love.
Emelyn was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her son Jack Wilson Lilley, Jr., and her siblings Corinne and Iola Weissinger, Eugenia W. Deaton, and William Weissinger.
She is survived by her sons John Weissinger Lilley, Frank Eugene Lilley, and George Benjamin Lilley; her daughters-in-law Marilyn, Mamie, and Mickey; her seven grandchildren Emelyn Lilley McBrayer (Chris), Frank "Smith" Lilley (Jessica), Benjamin Lilley (Mayumi), Jack Lilley (Hailee), Dell Lilley, Johnelyn Lilley, and Jessie Lilley; thirteen great-grandchildren; and her sister Ouida Weissinger Felker. She also leaves behind numerous nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held from 5 P.M. until 7 P.M. Wednesday, September 26th, at Wright and Ferguson Funeral Home in Clinton. A second visitation will begin one hour prior to the 11 A.M. funeral service at First United Methodist Church in Clinton on Thursday, September 27th. Interment will follow at the Tinnin Community Cemetery.
Emelyn will be greatly missed by her family and friends. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to First United Methodist Church, 100 Mt. Salus Drive, Clinton, MS 39056, the Diabetes Foundation of MS, or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.