Gracie Lee Petty

Aurora ~ Gracie Lee Petty, 89, went to be with our Lord Saturday, December 28, 2019 in Decatur.

Funeral is 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, December 31, 2019 at Hawkins Funeral Home Chapel in Boyd with burial in Paradise Cemetery. Family will receive friends 6-8 p.m. Monday at the funeral home.

Bro. Michael King will officiate. Pallbearers include Bobby Taylor, Shawn Taylor, Louis Reina, Bo Buchanan, Louie Wright, Remmington Wright, Jeremy Odom and Angel Garza.

Gracie Lee Petty was born on June 12, 1930 in Morgan County, Alabama.  She was the second of five children born to Lindsey and Eunice Ralph which included two sisters, Susie May and Helen, and two brothers, Robert Lindsey and John.

Gracie graduated from Cataco High School, Morgan County in 1948.  She married Charles “Sonny” Taylor in 1950 in Mississippi and began a family of her own and a series of moves that would take her from Alabama, Tennessee, Florida and eventually to Texas, her final home.

Her first child, Glenda Sue, was born in 1952, followed by Ricky Jo in 1954, Bobby Ray in 1955, Harlan Wayne in 1957, and Brenda Gail in 1958.  All five children grew up in Fort Worth, Texas where they would also make homes and families of their own.  Gracie was one of the most loving and devoted mothers the world has known even in the most trying times.

In 1975, Gracie lost her husband and the father of her five children, Sonny.  She met the man who she would share the rest of her days with shortly after.  Harold Lee Petty, also known as “Slick,” and Gracie were married in 1978 and remained side-by-side for the next forty-one years as husband and wife.  One of their first dates was to see Merle Haggard at Six Flags over Texas, but their love of music would last.  During their time together, they loved to travel to blue grass festivals across Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri.  One of Gracie’s greatest joys was traveling back to her native Alabama to visit family and friends.  During her final days, she would look at photos of family from Alabama and say, “I can’t go see them, but they are here with me right now.”  Although she had a learner’s permit, Gracie never really drove a day in her life.  Harold always took great pride in driving her back and forth to her childhood home.  During their life together, she always looked forward to dressing up in formal wear and attending the banquet that his job would hold each year.

Besides being a full-time mother, Gracie worked in the manufacture of exotic leather goods until her retirement in 2000 at the age of 70.  She took great pride in her work and frequently brought it home to cut for extra money.  The smell of leather will remind her children and grandchildren of her.

In her years of retirement, she loved to sit outside on the swing during pleasant days.  Gracie also loved to navigate her walker around the yard and pick up pecans when possible.  On days that were too cold or hot to allow outside journeys, you could find her sewing quilt tops.  Her handy work can be seen in the homes of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren in the form of these beautiful quilts.  When all was quiet, she could be found sitting peacefully beside Pawpaw Slick in their television room doing word searches or just watching him.   We will always miss the ways her eyes would light up when we walked in the house to visit.  She looked forward to company no matter who it was, but especially enjoyed visits from little ones.  Her house was truly one where anyone felt at home when you came.

Whether you called her mom, Mawmaw, or Gracie, the world is a better place for having her here all those years, and we will always have warm memories of the love given to us by one of the sweetest souls this world has known.

She was preceded in death by her parents; 2 sons, Bobby Ray Taylor and Harlan Wayne Taylor; and 2 brothers, R.L. Ralph and John Ralph.

Those left behind to cherish her memory are her husband of 41 years, Harold “Slick” Petty of Aurora; her daughter,  Glenda Sue Moore of Saginaw; her son Ricky Jo Taylor and wife Lucille of Lake Worth; her daughter, Brenda Gail Rosson and husband Roy of Newark; 10 grandchildren, Carrie, Kelly, Alysia, Ricky, Nathan, Bobby Don, Robin, Shawn, Crystal, and Candace; 23 great grandchildren; 4.5 great great grandchildren; 2 sisters Sue Cadley and Helen Bowen both of Alabama; other relatives and a host of friends.