Sammie Lee Crain Devine, 84, of Vaiden passed away on Tuesday, February 25, 2020.
Visitation was held at from noon until service began at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 29, in the Oliver Funeral Home Chapel, with Rev. David Westmoreland and Rev. Leon Holly officiating. Burial followed in Midway Cemetery near Vaiden.
Mrs. Devine was born on April 17, 1935, to Leo and Linnie (McLaurin) Crain in Puckett and was their only child. Shortly afterwards, the family moved to the community of Johns where her father farmed.
A few years later, her father felt the call to preach the gospel, so the family moved to Wesson so that he could attend Copiah-Lincoln Junior College. Sadly, he passed away a year and a half later. She and her mother moved back to Puckett with family for a time before moving to Canton, where she graduated high school in 1953.
She returned to Co-Lin as a student herself and finished her Associate’s Degree there in 1955. She then moved to Jackson and worked for All-State Insurance for 10 years. While living there, she met and married her husband James Robert Devine in 1961.
After living in Jackson for a few years, they moved to Aberdeen, then Ripley. While in Ripley, she returned to school to finish her degree in Elementary Education at Blue Mountain College. She taught in Blue Mountain for two years before moving to Winona, where she taught sixth grade English for twenty seven years. She loved teaching for the students she impacted and for the camaraderie with her fellow teachers.
In retirement, Mr. and Mrs. Devine moved to Vaiden, where Mrs. Devine enjoyed being part of the Brownline Club, Live Wires and Shongolo WIC. She was a long time member of Moore Memorial United Methodist Church in Winona.
She was preceded in death by her parents and two infant children (James Nelson in 1963 and James Randle in 1965).
She is survived by her husband, James Robert Devine, two children, Michael Stanley Devine (Scarlett) of Vaiden, and Robin Devine Graves (Larry) of Starkville; four grandchildren, Michael Alexander Devine of Miami, Fla.; Adrianne Michelle Devine of Brandon; and Wesley Randle Graves and Tanner Smith Graves both of Starkville.
Pallbearers were Alex Devine, Wesley Graves, Tanner Graves, Robert Griffin, Jimmy Webb, and Dennis Dean. Honorary pallbearers were Joe Don Jones, Marion Jones, and Billy Joe Ferguson.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Midway Cemetery Fund, 49702 Highway 430, Vaiden, MS 39176. Oliver Funeral Home of Winona (www.ofhwinona.com) handled the arrangements.
