Audrey Billingslea Pepper, 93 passed away peacefully Wednesday May 30 at home in Benton.
Funeral services are at 11:00am with visitation from 9:00-11:00am at the Culpepper Funeral Home in Canton with Roger Richardson officiating. Burial will follow at the Concord Cemetery in Pickens.
Audrey was born June 7, 1924 in Madison county and was the oldest of six children born to William Walter Billingslea and Mable Dendy Billingslea.
She graduated high school from Camden and later attended Holmes Jr College and Belhaven College in Jackson.
She loved to share her life with others and she did this by taking lots of pictures. Her numerous photo albums recorded her life and the lives of others She was an outstanding basketball player in high school and being six foot tall, she definitely had the advantage. If it hadn’t been during WWII when ladies athletics were mostly banned in colleges, it’s been rumored that she probably would have played basketball at the next level. In 1941, she was a member of the Camden HS basketball team that won the Madison County championship.
She married William E Pepper of Pickens in 1944 and they had three children, Bettye, Marvin, and Fred.
They moved to Benton in 1963 and soon after began work at the then Deposit Guaranty Bank in Yazoo City. She retired from Regions Bank as the Head Teller after 20+yrs of service. She was also a member of the Benton Methodist Church.
She was proud to watch her daughter cheer at HJC and both of her sons play football in college whether it be at Holmes JC or Mississippi State University. She did not miss a game. She remained a huge sports fan throughout her life and could even be seen watching NASCAR on TV.
Audrey enjoyed working in her yard and also loved to travel and after retiring she and her husband traveled all over the country on bus tours and cruises with friends.
She was a strong woman who barely was sick a day of her life. You could always depend on getting a birthday card or a letter from Audrey because she loved staying in touch with friends and family. She was a loving and caring person who had a great sense of humor. One that she kept until the day she died.
Audrey was preceded in death by her parents; husband William Pepper; and sisters, Elmease Patton, Alice Ann Jennings; brother, Walter Billingslea Jr; daughter, Helen Elizabeth “Bettye” Pepper.
She is survived by brother, “Billy” Billingslea, sister, Martha Parker both of Pickens; sons, Marvin D. Pepper (Peggy) of Madison; and Fred B Pepper of Benton; grandsons, Clayton Howell Pepper of Madison and William Bradley “Brad” Pepper (Brielle) of Flora; granddaughter, Skylar Nicole Pepper of Covington La. and numerous nieces and nephews.
Her family would like to thank Baptist Hospice Care for their outstanding professional care including Stacey, Christy, Mary, Gladys and especially nurse, Maegan Lampley who went above and beyond her duties to make sure Audrey was comfortable and had everything she needed. And last but not least, they would like to thank Rosetta Thornton who sat with her for nearly a
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