Hughlene Stokes

Willie Hughlene Thompson Stokes was born October 25, 1924, to Mart and Lillian Thompson in Upshur County and passed away on Sunday, December 6, 2020. Known affectionately as Tootsie in her youth, she was reared on her family farm in Latch where she met her husband Alton while picking cotton. They married December 24, 1940 in the Rosewood Community at the preacher’s home. After Alton was deployed to San Diego during WWII, she soon followed, securing employment at Vultee Consolidated Aircraft, where she served her country as a riveter and bucker building PBY Catalina Bomber Seaplanes. She was awarded the coveted “E Award” for excellence and earned a place in history as a Rosie the Riveter. After WWII, they raised their family in Gilmer and enjoyed their golden years in the Little Mound community, establishing a home beneath the shade of the pecan tree where Alton had asked for her hand in marriage. Although Hughlene constructed airplanes, the very first flight she boarded wasn’t until 1982, a transatlantic journey to Europe for a flower and garden tour. The adventure inspired a love for travel and she later enjoyed trips to the Marshall Islands, Hawaii, the Middle East, the Greek Isles, and Israel, as well as road trips and bus tours across the United States. Hughlene was an active member of the American Rosie the Riveter Association and her personal story was published in Rosie the Riveter Stories: How They Did It! (2016). That same year, she was awarded the distinction of being the first “Rosie” from the state of Texas to join an Honor Flight to Washington DC with a group of WWII veterans. Her patriotic legacy is memorialized at the Rosie the Riveter rose garden installation at the Upshur County Courthouse. An avid gardener well into her nineties, she claimed the CB handle “Green Thumb.” Many benefited from the bounty of her harvests and she took pleasure in sharing her seeds and starter plants with others. Her culinary specialties were chicken and dressing, squash pickles, and pecan pie. She was always ready for a game of Spinner Dominoes, eager to play with anyone who loved to laugh and didn’t mind losing! Baptized at age eleven in a pond in Shady Grove, she was a life-long member of Little Mound Baptist Church. A proud seventh generation Texan, she enjoyed membership in the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. She was a loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, and all who knew Hughlene were endeared by her kindness and gentle spirit. Hughlene is preceded in death by her husband Alton, February 21, 1997; children Nelda and Stanley, and grandson Jared. Those left to cherish her memory are son Steve Stokes (Gay Nell), daughter Melissa Holmes (David), daughter Stella Stokes, and daughter-in-law Betty Stokes, as well as five grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren who adoringly knew her as “Granny.” Additionally, Hughlene is survived by her brother Bill Thompson (Gayle) and numerous nieces and nephews. The family would like to express our most sincere gratitude for the care provided by the staff at Wesley House of Gilmer, Highland Park Home Health, and Heart to Heart Hospice. Visitation will be held from 1:00 - 2:00 pm on Tuesday, December 8, 2020, at Little Mound Baptist Church, followed by a graveside service at 2:00 pm at the church’s cemetery pavilion, at 11746 FM 49, Big Sandy, Texas. The service will be officiated by Brother Michael Phillips and Brother Charles Johnson. Due to COVID, the family requests that you wear a mask. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Little Mound Cemetery Association at PO Box 1387, Gilmer, Texas 75644. Pallbearers are Steve Stokes, David Holmes, Jeff Holmes, Brian Weast, Ethan McCready and Marty Thompson. Honorary pallbearers are Alan Davis, Preston Davis, Nathan Davis, Austin Davis, Matt Thompson and Marcus Thompson. Please visit Hughlene’s on-line registration book at www.mcwhorterfh.com to leave a memory for the family.

Hughlene Stokes

October 25, 1924 - December 6, 2020