Pat Williams Stubbs, 104 years old, passed away peacefully on July 15, 2026, in Oxford Mississippi, surrounded by her loving family and her two grandsons at her side holding her hands. She was the matriarch of the Stubbs and Williams family and the epitome of a Southern lady and grace.
Pat was born on December 4, 1921, at the family home in Williamsville, Mississippi. She was the eldest daughter of Kate and Brown Williams and the second of their six children. Her childhood was spent working alongside her siblings and cousins in the now-famous Williams Brothers Store, founded in 1907 by her father, Brown Williams, and her uncle, Amzie Williams. Pat was immensely proud of her Neshoba County roots and attended the Neshoba County Fair each year at the Williams Family Cabin on Founders Square to reconnect with family and lifelong friends, which remained one of her greatest joys.
After graduating from Philadelphia High School in 1938, Pat attended and graduated in 1942 from the University of Mississippi, where she excelled both academically and in campus leadership. She was a member of Delta Gamma Sorority, serving as chapter president. She was also elected President of the Ole Miss Women’s Student Body, Vice President of the Panhellenic Council, and was elected by the student body as the 1941 Ole Miss May Queen. She often shared fond memories of her years at Ole Miss and remained a devoted Rebel football fan throughout her life. She especially enjoyed watching her brother, Brown Williams, and her cousin, Cooper Williams, play for Ole Miss while the three were students together, and loved telling the story of how the Williams Brothers Store would send a trainload of food to Oxford to feed the Rebel football team on home game days. She also recalled how the entire Ole Miss student body was called to Fulton Chapel after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
In 1942, Pat met the love of her life, Thomas Henry “Jack” Stubbs III. They were introduced by Jack’s older brother, Howard Stubbs, who encouraged him to ask Pat on a date because “the Williams girls were beautiful and smart.” At the time, Pat was serving as Manager of the Rationing Board during World War II. Their courtship led to marriage on April 28, 1945, in New Orleans, Louisiana, beginning a loving partnership that would span more than six decades.
In 1952, Pat and Jack moved to Holly Springs to open their own Stubbs Department Store. Their fathers, Brown Williams and Bloxum Stubbs, had long been friendly competitors, operating the Williams Brothers Store and Stubbs Department Stores, respectively, throughout Mississippi. Holly Springs became the place where Pat and Jack built both their business and their family, and it remained their beloved home for more than seventy years.
Pat devoted herself wholeheartedly to her church and community. She was a faithful member of First Baptist Church of Holly Springs, where for many years she created the altar floral arrangements each Sunday under six pastors, served as Program Chairman of the Mission Group, and taught Sunday School. She was a founding member of the Holly Springs Country Club and the Town and Country Garden Club, a member of the Thursday Club, Friends of the Marshall County Library, The Ole Miss Alumni Association, Member of Theatre Memphis, The Birthday Girls, and served on the Board of the Mississippi State Garden Club.
In 2022, Pat moved to The Pinnacle of Oxford to be closer to her family. Even there, she continued making cherished friendships and enjoying the fellowship of those around her.
Pat embraced life with enthusiasm. She loved her bridge club, was an accomplished needle pointer, an avid tennis fan, and an enthusiastic reader. She also enjoyed traveling with friends and family especially her sons, Jack and Pat Ellis, and grandsons Everette and Ellis whom she climbed on the Great Wall of China with in 1997 at the age of 76. She also visited many countries across Europe. Long before fitness walking became popular, she was known throughout Holly Springs as a dedicated power walker, often walking three to four miles each day well into her eighties. Many remember seeing her strolling through town wearing her signature oversized sunglasses and a silk scarf tied gracefully over her hair.
Nothing brought Pat greater joy than her family. She is survived by her sons, Thomas Jackson “Jack” Stubbs and his wife, Gay (Graeber), of Oxford, Mississippi, and Pat Ellis Stubbs of Holly Springs, Mississippi; her grandsons, Everette Caperton Stubbs of Washington, D.C., and Ellis Townsend Stubbs and his wife, Lee Ann (Kaigler), of Oxford; their mother, Linda Eastland Stubbs Seale of Holly Springs; her great-grandchildren, Ellis Townsend Stubbs, Jr., Penn Eastland Stubbs, and Nora Kate Stubbs, all of Oxford; her goddaughter Rachel Hurdle Entzel; her dear friend of nearly 70 years, Martha Carlisle; her devoted friend and caregiver, Mattie Jeffries; and many beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
She was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 62 years, Thomas Henry “Jack” Stubbs III; her parents, Kate and Brown Williams; her brothers, Thomas Brown Williams, Harold Grey Williams, and Merill Binford “Snooky” Williams; and her sisters, Janie Williams Pickering and Helen Williams Schneller. Together, they were affectionately known throughout their family as the “Williams Brothers and Sisters.”
The family extends its heartfelt gratitude to the compassionate staff at Baptist Hospital of North Mississippi, Gentiva Hospice and especially The Pinnacle of Oxford for their loving care and friendship. They also wish to express special appreciation to her cherished tablemates and friends, Barbara Power, Martha Rogers, Frankie Shows and Coach Robert Youngblood, whose companionship brought Pat great happiness during her years at The Pinnacle.
Pat will be remembered for her unwavering faith, gracious spirit, deep devotion to her family, and the kindness and elegance with which she lived every day of her remarkable 104 years.
Memorials may be made to First Presbyterian Church of Holly Springs at 164 South Memphis Street, Holly Springs, Mississippi 38635; the Robert T. Warren Outstanding Criminal Justice Student Award Endowment c/o The University of Mississippi Foundation, 406 University Avenue, Oxford, Mississippi 38655; or the Henry Benefiel Miller Endowment c/o Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi, 315 Losher Street, Suite 100, Hernando, Mississippi 38632.
Services to celebrate Pat’s remarkable life will be Saturday, July 18, 2026, at The First Presbyterian Church of Holly Springs, Mississippi. Visitation will be from 1:30pm to 3:00pm with the service beginning at 3:00pm. Graveside services will be immediately after the service in the Stubbs family plot in Hillcrest Cemetery.
Pallbearers: Jason Bowie Burch, Patrick Stallworth Carlton, Jeffrey Walter Dennis, Robert Kenneth Dickerson, Justin Michael Fitch, Joel Graeber Miller, George Wiley Pickering II, William Frederick Schneller, William Howard Stubbs, and Merril Binford Williams.
Honorary pallbearers: Jane Callicutt, Martha Carlisle, Donna Carson, Gerie Ellen Foster, Steve Gresham, Sheila Leslie, Bob Lomenick, Ree and Rook Moore, andThomas Brown Williams.
|