Mattie A. Farris, 93, of Beaumont, died Thursday, November 7, 2013 at Christus Hospital St. Elizabeth. She was born on January 16, 1920, in Mathistan, Mississippi, to Sudie D. Powell Alexander and Oscar G. Alexander.
Mattie and her sister, Mary, special pioneered for many years in Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, Kansas, and Kentucky, having many memorable and often humorous experiences, living in tents, abandoned houses, and trading for food. In 1944, Mattie and Mary were invited to attend the third class of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead in South Lansing, New York. They pioneered in Wilmington, North Carolina for a year until the war was over and it was possible to travel to their assignment in Montevideo, Uruguay. On November 24, 1945, they flew from Miami by Pan American Airways, arriving four days later in Montevideo. After two or three years in Montevideo and helping a good number of people to embrace the truth, Mattie and her sister, Mary, received a new assignment in Northern Uruguay, Riviera on the border of Brazil. The people spoke a dialect of Portuguese and Spanish mixed. In a short time, several families were regularly attending meetings. They remained in this territory for two years.
Survivors include her sister, Mary E. Pottorf of Tucson, Arizona, nephews; Percy Lovorn of Rollingfork, Mississippi, and Mark Lovorn of Richmond; nieces; Gloria Smith of Alexandria, Louisiana, Cindy Clyburn of Kountze, and Melissa Pottorf Jones of Tucson, Arizona
She is preceded in death by her first husband, Albert Osterloh, and her second husband Elton Farris.
A memorial service for Mrs. Farris will be 11:00 a.m., Monday, November 25, 2013, at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah Witnesses, 4045 Fannett Road, in Beaumont.
Memorial contributions may be made to Kingdom Hall of Jehovah Witnesses, 4045 Fannett Road, Beaumont, Texas 77705.
