The Celebration of Life for Mrs. Elzora (Arnett) Anderson will be Saturday, February 10th, 2024, at 1 pm at the St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church under the direction of Sparrow Funeral Home.
Rites of Christian Burial will follow at Magnolia Memorial Gardens.
The visitation will be from 11am until 1pm.
Elzora Marie Anderson, daughter of Hannah (Simon) Arnett and Lonnie Arnett, was born on Friday, July 15th, 1938, in Nacogdoches, Texas and reared in Orange, Texas.
She was married to Walter Anderson, Jr.
Sister Anderson accepted Christ at an early age and was baptized at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Orange where she was a dedicated member and servant for over 70 years. She served as President of the Senior Usher Board, member of the Senior Mission Ministry, 2nd Vice President of the Sunday School Ministry, Church Clerk, Vacation Bible School Teacher, and 5th Sunday Black History Program Coordinator. She was currently a Church Trustee until her death.
A 1958 graduate of Orange’s Emma H. Wallace High School, she received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education from Wiley College in Marshall, Texas and a Master of Education Degree from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Sister Anderson always had a passion for children and education. She taught second and third grades in the West Orange-Cove Consolidated Independent School District for thirty years. She served in several leadership and committee roles throughout her teaching career and received several honors. Her teaching career affiliated her with the National Education Association (NEA), Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA), the Orange County Retired Teachers Association, and the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA).
Her time and talent was also volunteered to community organizations including the Camp Fire Group, the Salvation Army, Project Graduation, and she was a Board Member of the Positive Education for Early Parenting (PEEP).
She was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and the NAACP. Additionally, a member of the Oran-Je’ Chapter Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc., she served as Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Financial Secretary and Chairperson of the Senior Citizen Trust.
Sister Anderson enjoyed traveling. As a member of the West Tabernacle Baptist Church Senior Citizen Association of Beaumont, Texas, she visited Niagara Falls; Toronto, Canada; Boston, Massachusetts; and Martha’s Vineyard.
On Tuesday, January 30th, 2024, in the quiet of her home, surrounded by family and friends, Elzora Marie Anderson passed from earthly life to life eternal.
Along with her parents and husband Walter, Jr., and his daughter, Deborah Lynn Johnson, she was preceded in death by two sisters, Eva Jo Wilkins and Ruby Jean Gosey, and one brother, Charles Ray Arnett.
Sister Anderson leaves to cherish her precious memory one daughter, Kerisha Anderson of Orange, one stepdaughter, Jacqueline Anderson Sterling of Fresno, California, one sister, Lonnie Jean Stephenson (James) of Orange, and two brothers, Lonny Ray Arnett (Delores “Mickey”) of Orange, and Mack Allen Arnett of Houston, Texas. She also leaves two step-grandchildren and four step-great-grandchildren who knew her as “Maw Maw.”
She was well loved by numerous other family members, including nieces and nephews who looked forward to her famous pecan pies at Thanksgiving Dinner! The family is joined in celebrating her life by a community of close friends who truly loved her, and she also loved them back in equal measure.
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