Martha Ann Lamb Westmoreland

DORSEY – Martha Ann (Lamb) Westmoreland, 66, departed her earthly home in the Dorsey Community and entered her heavenly home on the morning of Monday, November 13, 2023, after a fierce three-year battle with stage-four metastatic breast cancer. During this time, she was a courageous, resilient, and fierce warrior in her battle.  She entered battle suited in her armor of faith, family, and friends who supported her actions and decisions in her fight. A Baptist in faith, she believed in God’s love through his son Jesus Christ, and His sacrifice so that she may live forevermore in the presence of her Savior with cherished loved ones gone on before her. During her battle, she believed God’s will was to be done and showed no fear at each stage of surgery, treatment, testing, or metastases. She was a true warrior, using her adamant faith to quell her fears.

Preferring to be referred by her middle name, Ann was born on February 16, 1957, to Stanley Reed Lamb and Gurtiss Bell Allred Lamb and was reared in the Carolina Community of Itawamba County. Ann attended schools at Dorsey Elementary School, Fulton Junior High School, and graduated from Itawamba Agricultural High School as a member of the Class of 1978. After which time, she met the love of her life, Oliver Wendell Westmoreland, Sr., through his and her family’s mutual friends. They married on November 2, 1979, where they loved, lived, cared for, and devoted themselves to each other until Wendell’s passing on May 14, 2019. Her full-time occupation was that of a homemaker, where she never took a day off. Ann cared for and loved Wendell and his children, until she and he had one of their own, Oliver Wendell Westmoreland, Jr. Every single day, Ann made certain her family’s needs were met from having a clean home to live in, clean clothes to wear, hot home-cooked meals to eat each day, among numerous other things, to doing her best to make sure everybody’s needs were met above her own. She enjoyed and cherished her time spent babysitting grandchildren and great-grandchildren through the years. Known for her delicious culinary skills, she was the go-to person for cakes, hushpuppies, coleslaw, dressing, and many other delicious meals she enjoyed cooking for her family. Ann will most be remembered and missed for her devotion to family, kind and giving heart, and willingness to help others.

Ann believed in having a solid education and instilled this belief in Wendell, Jr., encouraging him to earn his high school diploma, go to college, and reach for the stars. Ann loved and supported Wendell, Jr. unconditionally in his daily life. Wendell, Sr. relied on Ann as his partner not only in marriage, but also in his various personal endeavors, including tying and fishing commercial fishing nets, beekeeping, gardening, raising chickens, cows, hogs, hunting, among many other projects and hobbies, and of course, to remembering dates and phone numbers. She and Wendell, Sr. were well known for their garden each year, where she never missed a season of canning and freezing vegetables and fruits until this past summer as her battle began to wear more on her body’s ability to keep up to her normal routines. In her past time, she enjoyed crocheting baby blankets, reading, watching various television shows, visiting with family and friends, and road trips, most recently making her first trip to the Gulf Coast in June.

She leaves behind her core support team of family, who did not let her fight her battle alone, including her fervently devoted son, Oliver Wendell Westmoreland, Jr. of the home; Wendell Sr.’s children of whom she called her own, Danny W. Westmoreland and Thomas W. Westmoreland (Telena), both of Dorsey, Johnny R. Westmoreland (Joyce) of Fulton, and Wanda F. Keith of Mantachie; eight grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; one great-great grandchild, with another expected in January. Ann also leaves behind a baby sister, Debbie Fay Keith (Donald), of Plantersville, a brother, Jimmy M. Lamb, of Nettleton; a half-sister, Jewell Dean Garrett, of Amory; a half-brother, Russell Lamb, of Nettleton; and a host of nieces and nephews, cousins, and friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband; a grandson, Jamie L. Westmoreland; her parents; two brothers, Rodger Dale Lamb and Randle Earl Lamb, both of whom she witnessed the drowning of at the age of six years old; a nephew, Donthaniel Keith; a half-sister, Emma Jean Reese; her sister-in-law and most special friend Emojeane (a.k.a. O-Jean) Lamb; her dearly loved cousins, Lonnie “Junior” Moore and Billy D. Moore; her maternal grandparents Ethel L. and Fannie M. Pearson Allred; and her paternal grandparents, Thomas D. and Lula Pearl Starling Lamb; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.

Her grandsons will serve as pallbearers.

The family will welcome friends at a visitation on Thursday, November 16, at the Fulton location of the McNeece -Morris Funeral Home from 5 to 8 p.m.

A remembrance of a life well lived and battle well fought will be at 11 a.m. Friday, November 17, with visitation from 8 am until service time, at the McNeece-Morris Funeral Home Chapel in Fulton with Bro. Allen Gullick of River Hill Baptist Church officiating. Burial will be next to her soulmate in the Westmoreland family plot of the Keyes Cemetery.

The family would like to express much thanks and appreciation to the many skilled nurses and staff with the North Mississippi Medical Center Home Health and Hospice Care Teams, the dedicated and hardworking nurses and staff of Four-Central and Three-West of the North Mississippi Medical Center, the caring and compassionate doctors, nurses, and staff at the North Mississippi Medical Center Hematology-Oncology and Infusion Center, North Mississippi Medical Center Radiation Oncology, and Surgery Clinic of Tupelo for their dedicated care, service, wisdom, and compassion to our dearly loved mother and grandmother during her battle.

The family is honored to have McNeece-Morris Funeral Home entrusted with the planning and fulfillment of Ann’s last requests.

Memories and condolences may be shared with the family on Ms. Westmoreland’s obituary page on the McNeece-Morris Funeral Home Facebook page and online website at https://www.mcneecemorrisfuneralhome.com/obituary/martha-westmoreland.

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