Anna Lois Kemble

Anna Lois Kemble, 103, passed away November 30, 2023. She will be laid to rest next to the love of her life, Joe, at 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, Dec 13, 2023, during a graveside service at the Bosqueville Cemetery.

Anna Lois Wilson Kemble was born February 20, 1920, in Waco, Texas to Lucien and Myrtle Wilson. She was born with a strength and calmness about her that her older brothers, Layton, and Herman Wilson drew upon so many times in their lives. She graduated from Waco High School and worked part time at Goldstein-Migel until she married.

Anna Lois was a city girl with all the comforts a city offers, but she met a country boy from Bosqueville named Joe Robert Kemble. At the time Joe worked as a butcher at a small local grocery store not far from where Anna Lois lived. Guess who got to run and pick up milk or a pound of meat? He was smitten by this "little red headed darling" and they were married a year later in 1939. Her one "request" for this marriage was that she did not have to iron clothes. Granted, laundry was sent out! She did not know she was going to experience real country living and that it would include outdoor toilets in Bosqueville.

Joe was a talented man and did many things for a living including restoring older automobiles, at this time it was during WWII, and all auto manufacturing stopped to build things for the war. He also served as a Waco Policeman. By 1947 the family, which now included 3 girls, Lynda Kay, Martha Joann, and Betty Carol, packed up and moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, as Joe went to work for an oil company. It was so hard to leave Waco and her parents, family, friends, and all she knew but she did. She learned to navigate the highways and back roads to Waco and alone with 3 little girls made the trip any time there were at least 3 empty days in a row. Anna Lois made the best of many bad living situations and as her girls say "she made a warm, loving, comfortable home no matter where we had to live. Country or city. We did not own much as moving kept things to a bare minimum, but we never felt the need for more. The house was full of love. Somehow Mother made “everything work out." She was a real Steel Magnolia. Anna Lois and Joe moved some 20 times before they retired together in Troup, Texas.

Anna Lois loved the church and no matter where she lived, she was a part of the church activities, including as a Sunday school teacher, church board member, president, secretary or any other position the church needed. She loved the local church bazaars and would always bring one of her delicious desserts to sell. At one such sale she was known to get three times the price for her cake as any of the other ladies' desserts did. This is folklore among all the kit and kin.

The kitchen was her domain and she loved being in it. Children, grandchildren, and sons-in-law alike all say "MaMaw's famous fried chicken" was their favorite. But each one of them also had a favorite dessert and she made sure whenever they visited it was on the table.

Anna Lois was a stay-at-home Mother until her youngest child was in high school. She went to work for Shivers Construction Company in Patterson, Louisiana. God planned for Pat and Robert Shivers to meet Anna Lois and Joe as they became as close as any family could. Both families were born in Texas and that itself as any Texan knows is a solid bond. But there was so much more these families had to offer each other. The love and support was there until Anna Lois died.

Anna Lois loved and was so proud of her 3 girls and when they married, she accepted and loved Ray, Ben and AC as her own. In fact, she was known to dote on them, some might say too much!

Anna Lois loved being a mother and grandmother. She made an effort to visit all three families as often as she could even though they had moved far away from Patterson then Troup. She did not want them to miss growing up and not knowing what extra special love from grandparents could feel like. It was magic.

Anna Lois lived most of her last 13 years with Betty and AC in Peachtree City, Georgia. These were wonderful years as most of her family lived close by or close enough for visiting and hosting large family gatherings with lots of food.

Lynda Kay married Ray Richter in 1959 and they had four children, Carol, Cheryl, Lisa and Scott and they had 5 children, Ileah, Rhiannon, Aidan, Kayla and Samantha and they had 2 children, Sterling, and Saban. Ray died in 2018.

Joann married Ben Platt in 1962 and they had 2 children, David, and Joe, and they had 3 children D.J., Wesley and Meghan.

Betty married AC Roda in 1967 and they had Ashleigh, and she had William.

Joe and Anna Lois were role models for so many people that knew them. They were loving, caring, compassionate people. They were great examples of what a good marriage, great parents, good Christians, law abiding citizens were and they loved America and what it afforded them by their working hard.

The family invites you to leave a message or memory on Anna Lois’ “Tribute Wall” at www.WHBfamily.com.