Stella S. Mollohan

Having entered this world on July 24, 1914, Stella Samantha (Simmons) Mollohan departed this life for the realm of Heaven on Wednesday, March 8th, 2017.  She was 102.

Stella was the daughter of Millie and John Simmons.  Her siblings, now deceased, included: Nora, Steve, Dessie, Ezra and Flossie.  Stella was the mother of four children:  Irene (deceased), Naomi, Herb (deceased) and Rita.  She was step-mother to William (deceased), Jean, Ina, Don and Sue (deceased).  She is survived by a veritable slew of descendants too many to name.

A person of uncommon industry and vitality, Stella enjoyed cooking, gardening and sewing.  She was (in her family’s opinion) talented beyond measure.  The qualities of industry and perseverance in the face of great obstacles define her character.  She raised children who, like herself, are models of the same qualities she endued. Please note this obituary is written by her grandchildren.  J

Stella was born four days prior to the declaration of World War I.  In the year of her birth, Woodrow Wilson was President of the United States.  She was six years old when women were first granted the right to vote.  She would live to see the transition from the brutalities of trench warfare to the even more horrific promise of mutually assured destruction made by the invention of nuclear weapons.  She was born before electricity made its way into the heart of West Virginia, and was almost middle-aged by the time Alaska and Hawaii achieved statehood.

During her lifetime she witnessed tremendous advances in medicine achieved through the advent of vaccinations; making polio, measles typhoid and tetanus a rarity.  She would have seen horse drawn carriages make way for the model-T.  She would have seen the first highway built in West Virginia, making travel to and from one of the most isolated regions of the country in which she was born and raised a realistic possibility.  Her lifetime was a witness to several historical eras spanning World War I, The Roaring Twenties, The Great Depression, World War II, to the turn of the Millennium into the twenty first century.

As a family, we are grateful for her love and are blessed to be able to call her family.

In lieu of flowers, we ask that you send a memorial contribution to Montgomery Hospice Casey House at www.montgomeryhospice.org.