Lela Belle Turner Wilson

Mrs. Lela Belle Turner Wilson, age 101, passed away on Sunday, January 30, 2022 at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center. Funeral services are planned for 2:00 PM on Wednesday, February 2, at Rehoboth Baptist Church on Dawson Road, with Rev. James Beckett officiating. Entombment will follow at Sunset Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, February 1, between the hours of 4:00 and 6:00 PM at Hancock Funeral Home, 427 S. Lee St. Born August 14, 1920 in Plains, she was a daughter of the late Horace Curran Turner and the late Tonnie Bartley Turner. She had been a resident of Americus and Sumter County for most of her life. She was among the oldest members of Rehoboth Baptist Church and also attended Sunday School at First Baptist Church where she was a member of the Philathea Class. She retired from Manhattan Shirt Factory after 25 years and became a member of the Retirees Club. Lela Belle was a wedding consultant and director for many weddings, working with the late Miss Martha Helms. She was an honor student and graduate of the last graduation class of Anthony High School in 1938, and was crowned "Miss Anthony". Her family were entertainers for many talent shows and plays at the Roxy Theater, now the Rylander Theater, where she served as a volunteer for a number of years. She met her husband, Lewis Emory Wilson, at Rehoboth. They married on September 5, 1940 in Cusseta, and shared over 73 years of marriage until his death in 2014. She and Lewis were members of The Elks Club #752, and she was president for many years of the Eleven O'Clock Club Ladies Auxiliary of the Elks Lodge which is now the Council House on Church Street. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Lewis Emory Wilson; and by siblings: Liz Turpin, H.C. Turner, Jr., and Lee Jack Turner; and brothers-in-law: Charles Knight and Bill Turpin. Survivors include her daughters: Kim Mountjoy and Kerri Untch; grandchildren: Nally Mountjoy (Richard Huff) and Kristen Perry Gordon (Andy Gordon); great-grandchildren: Grayson Gordon and Aniston Gordon; her sister, Faye Knight; and several nieces and nephews. For those wishing to do so, memorial donations are suggested to Rehoboth Baptist Church, 422 Ga Highway 49 S, Americus, GA 31719. To sign our online guestbook and express your condolences to the family, please visit www.hancockfuneralhomeinc.com Hancock Funeral Home, 427 S. Lee St., is honored to be entrusted with these arrangements for Mrs. Lela Belle Turner Wilson.