Elsie Daugherty

Elsie Ray (Ellis) Daugherty, a resident of the Charleston Place assisted-living facility in Fulton, MS passed away peacefully in the company of loved ones on November 7, 2020 at North Mississippi Medical Center’s Hospice Care Unit in Tupelo, MS.  She was 90 years old.  She will be buried alongside Thomas, her husband of 58 years, at Lee Memorial Park in Verona, MS in a graveside service at 10:00 AM on Monday November 9, 2020.

Elsie was born in West Point, MS on August 28, 1930 to Melvin Callaway and Betty Ruth (Thompson) Ellis.  She grew up on a farm outside West Point and graduated from West Point High School.  Elsie attended MSCW in Columbus, MS for two years before going to work for South Central Bell Telephone as a switchboard operator.  She retired from the phone company, enjoyed a second career, and a subsequent second retirement from JC Penny & Company in Tupelo, MS.  Her outgoing personality made her a perfect fit the work at Penny’s.

Elsie married Thomas L. Daugherty of Tupelo, MS on December 1, 1954.  They were happily married for 58 years until Thomas’ passing in 2012.  The couple raised three children in a loving home in Tupelo.  Elsie was a longtime member of Harrisburg Baptist Church in Tupelo and loved the years she sang in the church choir.  Her passion for sewing and quilting resulted in family and friends receiving more than 150 beautiful quits of various sizes and patterns over the years.  Elsie enjoyed reading and passed that joy on to all of her children.  To say she was regular at the Lee County Library would be an understatement.  Putting together 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzles was pastime she enjoyed too.

Elsie was preceded in death by her parents Melvin & Betty, her brothers Melvin Jr. & Jimmy and her sisters Exyah, Nell & Jackie.  She is survived by her sister, Mollie (Ellis) Echols of Starkville, MS, her son Bill (Susan) Daugherty of Fulshear, TX, her son Dr. David (Jo Ann) Daugherty of Carlsbad, CA, her daughter Velma (Ronnie) Davis of San Antonio, TX, her grandchildren Sam, Jake, Jonathan & Joseph, her great grandchildren Matthew, Nate, Parker & Kyler, numerous nieces, nephews and other relatives.

In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made in Elsie’s name to her favorite charity, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.

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