Frances Armelia Phelan

Frances Armelia Harris Phelan entered her heavenly home with Jesus at approximately 8:05 pm Sunday evening July 3, 2022, surrounded by her family singing, praising, and praying.  Psalm 100 (Classic Amplified) - 2 Serve the Lord with gladness! Come before His presence with singing!  3 Know (perceive, recognize, and understand with approval) that the Lord is God! It is He Who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His]! We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.  4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name!  5 For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are everlasting, His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations.   She had celebrated her 100th birthday December 9, 2021.  Visitation and services were held at Karnes and Son Rutherford, TN with Bro. Charles Pratt sharing God’s Word with us.  She so loved Bro. Charles and Ms. Linda his wife.  Having a pastor as well as a good preacher was so important to her; as was missionary work.  Bro. Charles and Linda embodied both.   Her earthly body was laid to rest at Walnut Grove Cemetery in Gibson County.  Pall bearers were her great grandsons – Garrett and Seth Hinson, Garner and Aubrey Perkins, Hayden Stallings, and Peter Gaglio. 

She is survived by her daughters Lavonne Yarbro and Ramona Scarborough.  Lavonne’s family includes husband Floyd and their daughters Milicent Stallings and Larissa Perkins:  Milicent’s daughters Hannah Green and Claire Gaglio (Peter husband and son Atlas) along with Milicent’s husband Kevin Stallings and children Hayden and Ashlyn; Larissa’s husband Clark and their sons Garner and Aubrey.

Ramona’s family includes husband Ivy and daughters Cristin Gregory (Chris her husband) and Lane Albores (Mark her husband and children Amelie and Reegan).

Also surviving are her daughters-in-law Elaine Dunavan (Tommy) and Martha Phelan (William) and son-in-law Sam Lott (Shelia): Elaine and Tommy’s daughter Shelly (husband Greg and sons Garrett [married to Millie] and Seth) and Martha and William’s son Chad (wife Sarah and son Reed); Sam’s children Rex, Kent, and Sean.   Her sister Shirley Clark and many precious nieces and nephews remain.  She had also “adopted” Cullen Williams and “extended her family” in recent years to include Kathy Wingo and husband Richard to whom she was known as “Mom”.

Mrs. Armelia was preceded in death by her husband Aubrey (married for 50 years); sons Tommy and William; daughter Shelia; parents Clayborn and Minnie Harris; brother Darrell and sisters Izetta Mayhall, Faye Stringer, and Sue Carolyn Jewel.

 For over 45 years she was the “Avon lady” to many throughout Rutherford and the surrounding communities.  She very much enjoyed the opportunities to visit with folks in their home and share and pray.  She received many sales awards from Avon and actually refused an offer of advancement due to concern that the demands of a management job and travel would cause her to miss too much time with her husband and five children. For many years she and Aubrey managed the cotton gin in Rutherford during harvest season and farmed themselves.  For as many years as her health permitted, she faithfully attended church and served as a Sunday School teacher and sang in the choir. 

She loved all people unconditionally and quietly, anonymously helped many.  Her prayer was always that her family and others would come to know Jesus as personal Savior and Lord and grow to live out their faith in surrender and obedience to Christ.  Our prayer continues. . .  

I Corinthians 13:  4-8 (Classic Amplified) best describes who Armelia Phelan was on this earth.   4 Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.  5 It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy, fretful, or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].  6 It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness but rejoices when right and truth prevail.  7 Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].  8 Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].     

 John 3:  16 (Classic Amplified) - 16 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.