Alma Julia Lott

1922 - 2016  (93 years)

• Name	Alma Julia Lott  [1, 2, 3]
  Birth	2 Nov 1922	Sabine County, Texas   [2, 3, 4]
  Gender	Female
  Death	5 Jun 2016	The Woodlands, Harris County, Texas   [2]
  Burial	Lott Cemetery, Sabine County, Texas
  Notes	The Sabine County Reporter Wednesday, July 30, 2008 Page One McClelland honored with diploma Alma J. Lott McClelland was honored Thursday night by the Hemphill I.S.D. Board of Trustees. Mrs. McClelland has been a volunteer at the Hemphill I.S.D.'s cafeteria for the past nine years-serving ice cream at least two days a week. The school learned that she had never received her high school diploma because she had to go to work to help her family. She lacked one and one-half credits to obtain her diploma, so Hemphill I.S.D. presented her with an honorary diploma. Mrs. McClellend's daugther, Nancy Fuller, and granddaughter, Missi Fuller Gibbons, were by her side Thursday night as she received this special recognition. Hemphill High School Principal Marc Griffin read the following before the diploma was presented: "In 1939, our country was in a different place than we know it today. Having just stabilized after World War I, then surviving the Great Depression, the United States was at work again. With millions of men away fighting, huge numbers of horrific casualities still lingering from World War I, there was a severe shortage of laborers in a range of jobs from rural to the cities. Women were called on, by necessity, to do work outside the home.....Sabine County was no exception. Many men and women of [that era] dropped out of school as non-completing seniors to either suppor the war effort directly or support their families while the men were away. Alma J. Lott dropped out of high school in October of 1939 to go to work. Her father, Joshua Lott, had returned home from World War I with lung deterioration due to being gassed while held as prisoner of war in France. Hemphill had a sewing room which paid $2 a day for women would go to work for family support. Sewing rooms housed large and dangerous equipment. Certainly there was no air conditioning. Nonetheless, Alma, like millions of other young people from 1935 to 1945 when to work...Alma has lived a life with few regrets. But the one regret she has mentioned numerous times is how she wished she could have graduated from high school...Numerous times, when her family has complained about a "difficult subject" she always told them to 'Hush' (because) if given a chance she would have become a medical doctor. She has been a lifelong reader and has encouraged all those whose lives she touched to always continue to read and learn. She has worked 'around the square' in Hemphill. She has decorated retails windows, done bookkeeping in stores, ordering, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and maintained displays and every other area of retail sales. Later in life, she operated Granny's House, a licensed family home for child care in Hemphill. She insisted on checking every child's report card once they entered school, and if the bus dropped them off she made them do their homework (which she checked) after a healthy snack. Graduating from college was not an option that was ever given [to her daughter and grandchildren] Nancy, Trey or Missi....In 2001...the federal legislature formally recognized those high school seniors who interupted their own education to contribute to the U.S.'s economic support...They gave the states the right to return the privilege of graduation to those young men and women show left high shool during the time of war and economic depression....." Obituary Alma Julie Lott McClelland, age 93 passed from this earthly life on June 5, 2016 in The Woodlands, Texas. She was born November 2, 1922, in Bronson, Texas. Alma was the daughter of Mary Elizabeth Jacks Lott and Joshua Andrew Lott. Preceded in death was her husband, Van Ennis Mc Clelland, grandson, Grayson Fuller and three brothers, Albert, Herman, and Hulan Lott. She was a resident of Sabine County for 86 years where she was fondly referred to by numerous children as "Granny" or at school as the "Ice Cream and pickle Lady." Her life was a testimony to the person she was. Managing Granny's House, where she cared for numerous children complete with home Cooked meals, serving as the Nursery Manager for her beloved First Baptist Church touching the lives of so many children, or volunteering at school for nine years, to raise scholarships for students, were all done with love and the greatest care she had to offer. Frequently, When asked why she volunteered at school three to four days a week her answer was always the same. "If I can help one child go to college by selling pickles and ice cream, that will be an opportunity I never had." She received a Presidential commendation from President George H W Bush following the explosion of the Columbia Space shuttle. She cooked more than 100 dishes to serve to the volunteers with her own money. Granny was Nursery Director of First Baptist Church for nine years. She worked "on the square" in Hemphill most of her young adult life. She is survived by her daughter Nancy Fuller Gilpin and husband Jerry of Montgomery, Texas, two grandchildren, Trey and Wynter Fuller and Melissa and Nick Gibbens, of Houston. Her life was blessed by five great grandchildren; Graham, Stella, Gracie, Will, and Liam. Granny's final resting place will be the Lott Cemetery. A Celebration of Life Service will be held Saturday, June 11, at 2 pm, First Baptist Church. A reception will follow for all friends and loved ones. Granny's favorite charity is Hemphill ISD Scholarship Fund. Copied from www.obittree.com Also published in The Sabine County Reporter, June 8, 2016, Page 12
  Person ID	I31197	Strong Family Tree
  Last Modified	18 Apr 2021

  
  

  Father	Joshua Lott,   b. 21 Apr 1895, Texas d. 1 Apr 1961 (Age 65 years)
  Mother	Mary Eliza "Lizzie" Jacks,   b. 22 Feb 1901, Sabine County, Texas d. 22 May 1971, Jasper County, Texas (Age 70 years)
  Family ID	F13976	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Van Ennis McClelland,   b. 28 Feb 1923, San Augustine County, Texas d. 13 Mar 1950, Snyder, Scurry County, Texas (Age 27 years)
  Marriage	Bef 1949  [5]
  Children	1. Living
  Family ID	F10024	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	1 Mar 2014

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 2 Nov 1922 - Sabine County, Texas Burial - - Lott Cemetery, Sabine County, Texas  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources

  [S336] The Sabine County Reporter, P.O. Box 700, Hemphill, Texas (Published Weekly), (Founded in 1883, The Sabine County Reporter (USPS 474-660) is published once a week on Wednesday. The Reporter is Published by Sabine County Reporter, Inc. Postmaster: Send change of address to P.O. Box 700, Hemphill, Texas 75948-0700. The Sabine County Reporter and The Rambler merged March 1, 1988. Member National Newspaper Association and Texas Press Association.), July 30, 2008, Page 2 (Reliability: 3). [S336] The Sabine County Reporter, P.O. Box 700, Hemphill, Texas (Published Weekly), (Founded in 1883, The Sabine County Reporter (USPS 474-660) is published once a week on Wednesday. The Reporter is Published by Sabine County Reporter, Inc. Postmaster: Send change of address to P.O. Box 700, Hemphill, Texas 75948-0700. The Sabine County Reporter and The Rambler merged March 1, 1988. Member National Newspaper Association and Texas Press Association.), June 8, 2016, Page 12 (Reliability: 3). [S564] 1930 United States Federal Census [Ancestry.com. database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2002., (Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls. Containing records for approximately 123 million Americans, the 1930 United States Federal Census is the largest census released to date and is the most recent census available for public access. The census gives us a glimpse into the lives of Americans in 1930, and contains information about a household?s family members and occupants including: birthplaces, occupations, immigration, citizenship, and military service. The names of those listed in the census are linked to actual images of the 1930 Census.), Texas, Sabine County, JP 1, East Mayfield Town Enumerated April 7, 1930 ED 202-1 SD 19 Sheet 5A Stamped 5 320-85-90 (Reliability: 3). [S336] The Sabine County Reporter, P.O. Box 700, Hemphill, Texas (Published Weekly), (Founded in 1883, The Sabine County Reporter (USPS 474-660) is published once a week on Wednesday. The Reporter is Published by Sabine County Reporter, Inc. Postmaster: Send change of address to P.O. Box 700, Hemphill, Texas 75948-0700. The Sabine County Reporter and The Rambler merged March 1, 1988. Member National Newspaper Association and Texas Press Association.), July 20, 2008, Page 2 (Reliability: 3). [S1738] McCary, Kay P. "Lott Cemetery, Sabine County, Texas" Cemetery Index ; http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txsabine/burials/.