Mae Eleanor Freeman Moye

Mae Eleanor Freeman Moye passed away on June 18, 2013 at O’Sullivan’s Care Facility. Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on June 20, at Memory Chapel in Laurel, MS with burial to follow at Hickory Grove Cemetery. Visitation will be prior to the service at 10:00 a.m. A lifelong resident of Laurel, Mississippi, she was born on Nov. 4, 1923 to Milton Hilliard Freeman and Eva Mae Gordon Freeman. A graduate of George S. Gardiner High School in 1940, Mae Eleanor went on to attend Jones County Junior College where she was selected by her peers as homecoming queen in 1942. After graduating from Jones, she attended the University of Mississippi where she was a member of Delta Delta Delta Sorority, earning a BS Degree in education with a minor in French in 1943. In February of 1944, she married her high school sweetheart, Lt. James Moye of Laurel. While her husband served as a pilot in the Army Air Corp during World War II, Mae taught 5th grade English in the Laurel Schools. After the war, she moved with her husband to Memphis while he finished his studies at the Southern School of Optometry. While in Memphis, Mae taught school and worked for the Department of Public Welfare. Upon Dr. Moye’s graduation, the couple returned to Laurel where Mae Eleanor turned her attention to her two daughters and the various community organizations that she loved. The Moyes were founding members of both Trinity Presbyterian Church and Covenant Presbyterian Church. While a member of Trinity, Mae served as President of the Women of the Church and taught Sunday school. Active in both community and state organizations, Mrs. Moye participated and served in various groups such as the Laurel Junior Auxiliary, DAR, Colonial Dames of Mississippi, the Guild of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Jones County Republican Women, and the Laurel Little Theater. Mae also served as President of the Northwood Garden Club and the YWCA. She continued to serve on the Y Board for many years after she finished her term as President. Mae Eleanor also worked tirelessly alongside her husband in the Mississippi Republican Party. Never straying far from her background in education, she was also instrumental in helping start the first Special Education Classes in the Laurel Schools. Mrs. Moye is preceded in death by her parents; three sisters; and her husband of 68 years, Dr. James Moye. She is survived by two daughters, Marilyn Moye Thoms, (Joel) of Petal, Mississippi and Jamie Moye Farber (Brad) of St. Peters, Missouri. She has 6 grandchildren, Marcy Thoms Scoggins (Kirk) of Madison, Mississippi; Joel S. Thoms, Jr. (Leigh Ann) of Petal, Mississippi; Kirk W. Thoms (Catherine) of Tupelo, Mississippi; Stephanie Farber Dunn (Ryan) of St. Petersburg, Florida; Chris Garber and David Farber of St. Peters, Missouri, and 8 great-grandchildren. Pallbearers will be Owen Bowen, Ken McCaskill, Kirk Scoggins, Joel Thoms, J. J. Thoms, and Kirk Thoms. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Covenant Presbyterian Church or a charity of choice.

Mae Eleanor Freeman Moye

November 4, 1923 - June 18, 2013