Christelle Fern Wailes Winn, 85, passed away on Wednesday, September 16, 2020, with her husband at her side. She passed away peacefully in her home after having suffered from multiple strokes.
Memorial Services will be held at 4:00 p.m. Thursday, September 24, 2020, at Sneed Funeral Chapel.
Christelle was born in Natchitoches, Louisiana on April 8, 1935, to Julian Howard “Smokey” Wailes, Jr. and Lois Dowden Wailes. She graduated from Natchitoches High School in 1953. On July 3, 1954, she married her high school sweetheart, Perry Lee Winn of Clarence, Louisiana. Their little family grew into four with the arrival of David the following year, and Janice in 1957. Family and faith were important to her, visibly displayed in the selfless generosity of her time and talents to many in her family and beyond.
Her many accomplishments include turning any kind of house, be it shabby or nice, into a cozy home; being generous, kind, and giving in too many ways to list; being an exceptional cook, even when she didn’t really like doing it; being a covert artist, which was a surprise even to herself; and, to the working world, being an accomplished bookkeeper, secretary, and medical transcriptionist. While not being outgoing, she liked people, always sought to see the good in others. Her later years were much involved with helping as a caregiver of her favorite person in the world, her grandson, Sean - who had acquired a brain injury in 1999. In spite of her hard-working side, she was also fun-loving. She was a member of the Adamsville Glitzy Glamor Girls Red Hat Society group, and enjoyed travel and sitting in the dirt digging up crystals.
She was preceded in death by her son, David Lee Winn; her parents; her siblings, Elizabeth Wailes McLendon, Julian Kenneth “Hap” Wailes, Mae Carolyn “Tootsie” Wailes, and James Barney Wailes.
Survivors include her husband, Perry; daughter, Janice Faye Winn Rollins and her husband Stephen Rollins of Lampasas; grandson, Sean David Winn and sister, Lynette Wailes McBride of Hillsboro, TX.