Mrs. Zelma Estelle (Smith) Culp, 92, devoted daughter, loving wife, nurturing mother, attentive grandmother, caring great-grandmother, faithful friend and humble Child of God went to be with her Lord on March 3, 2018, at the home of her daughter, Joan Howerton of Tiptonville.
Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Thursday in the chapel at White-Ranson Funeral Home, with Bro. James Foxworth officiating. Interment will follow at New Ebenezer Cumberland Presbyterian Church Cemetery near Hornbeak.
Friends may pay their respects to her family from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.
Pallbearers will be her grandsons and great-grandsons.
Honorary pallbearers will be her sons-in-law.
The family requests memorials be made to Mt. Olive Baptist Church, P.O. Box 721, Union City, TN 38260; or the charity of choice.
She was born June 17, 1925, in Obion County, to the late Walter Lee and Mai Belle (Armstrong) Smith. On March 26, 1945, she became the loving wife of the late Fred Earl Culp in a marriage service conducted by the Rev. King Dickerson. As her husband was a member of the U.S. Navy, their first home was in Chicago.
On May 16, 1946, she became a nurturing mother to her firstborn, Sandra, in Obion County. She then moved with her family to Corpus Christi, Texas, where, on July 21, 1947, a daughter, Sue, was born.
She and her family returned to Obion County, and on May 24, 1948, a son, Don, was born prematurely, weighing less than two pounds. She then became a vigilant caregiver, feeding her frail son with an eyedropper despite doctors advising her to prepare for the infant’s death.
On June 3, 1950, her daughter, Joan, was born in Obion County. The Navy then transferred her husband and family to Millington, where she completed her family with the birth of her late daughter, Linda, on Nov. 26, 1952.
A few months after Linda’s birth their Millington home burned to the ground, displacing the family until new housing could be obtained. An outpouring of generous neighbors resulted in Mrs. Culp re-routing truckloads of clothing and furnishings to a mission center to be shared with others.
Shortly thereafter, the family was transferred to Norfolk, Va., where she served as both mother and father while her husband was at sea. Her family was then transferred back to Union City where he served as a Naval recruiter until his commission in 1957 led them to San Diego, where again, she was both mother and father when her husband was at sea.
While in San Diego, she assisted her husband and a small group of Believers in establishing a Southern Baptist Church in the Imperial Beach area. Until land was secured and a building erected, the group met in the local VFW club — which required weekly cleanings on Saturday evening before Sunday services.
The Buena Vista Baptist Church was under construction when Estelle and her family returned to her beloved Obion County following her husband’s retirement from the U.S. Navy in 1959.
She and her husband purchased a home in the Fremont community and joined the Mt. Olive Baptist Church, where she served as a Sunday School teacher. She returned to work for Brown Shoe Company and rekindled relationships with family and friends.
Her home became a favorite gathering place as she hosted Halloween tacky parties, birthday parties, dance parties and sleepovers for the children. Friends and relatives frequently gathered for Sunday afternoon and holiday visits that included delicious meals, playful board games and card games. She loved her home, family, friends and church, dearly.
Estelle is survived by three daughters, Sandra Earl (Robert M. “Pete”) Counce of Knoxville, Dorothy Sue (Larry) Ravn of Cedar Falls, Iowa, and Joan Christine (Carl) Howerton of Tiptonville; one son, Donald “Don” Lewis Culp of Martin; seven grandchildren, Anessa (Kipp) Kincaid and Robert W. “Peter” Counce of Knoxville, Christopher “Chris” (Paula) Ravn of Waterloo, Iowa, Angelia “Joy” (Michael) Cook of Pfafftown, N.C., Jonathan “Jon” Howerton (Monica) of Collins, Miss.; Rebecca “Becky” Bowers of Huntingdon, and Rachel (Scott) Zorn of Kansas City, Mo.; 10 great-grandchildren, Camden Kincaid of Knoxville, Allison and Easton Ravn, both of Waterloo, Daniel and Matthew Cook, both of Pfafftown, Richard and Rachel Cao, both of Collins, Miss., and Caleb, Elisha and Brooklyn Zorn, all of Kansas City; and a number of nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Walter Lee and Mai Belle (Armstrong) Smith; her husband of 65 years, Fred Culp; her daughter, Linda Dale (Culp) Bowers; five sisters, Lottie Lee Smith, Fannie Lurline Smith, Ora Belle Priest, Zula Henrietta Fergerson and Georgia Doris Wells; two brothers, Lexie Newton Smith and Elmer Arvelle “Bob” Smith; and two great-granddaughters, Mackenzie Grace Zorn and Hannah Leigh Zorn.
Condolences may be sent to the family at the funeral home website: www.white-ranson.com.
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