Pauline Stokes' Obituary
Pauline Stokes, 98, passed away peacefully on May 16, 2025. She was born on Sunday, May 1st, 1927 in Lafayette County in Taylor, Mississippi, the daughter of Modell Toles and Bertha Joiner-Toles.
She worked as a homemaker for many years, until she pursued a career at Graceland Care Center in Oxford, Mississippi as a nurse’s assistant. She was a dedicated member and Deaconess of Pleasant Green Missionary Baptist Church in Water Valley, Mississippi until she relocated to Waterloo, Iowa. She was a faithful member on the Mother Board at Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church and later joined the Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church in Waterloo. She was at church every Sunday until her health declined. Pauline was always dressed to impress with her hats, gloves, and jewelry.
Pauline’s greatest joy came from spending time with her family. Her homemade pound cakes were legendary in Mississippi, and her holiday gatherings were eagerly anticipated by family and friends hoping she would bake them a cake. Pauline’s love for nurturing things was evident in gardening, sewing, and later in life making jewelry which she lovingly tended for over decades. Pauline’s home was a haven of prayer and support, not just for her children but for countless others in need of a place to stay and comfort.
She united in Holy Matrimony with Wallace Stokes Sr. on February 10, 1945, and to this union six children were born. She leaves to mourn her memory: three daughters, Salene Stokes and Shirley Stokes of Waterloo, Iowa and Deborah Stokes of Nashville, Tennessee and a son, Wallace Stokes Jr. (Charlotte) of Oxford, Mississippi. A daughter-in-law, Esther Stokes of Waterloo, Iowa. Four sisters, Lizzie Toles of Detroit, Michigan, Corine Barr of Oxford, Mississippi, and Bonnie Vaxter and Lou (Sammie) Woodall of Taylor, Mississippi. Two brothers, Robert (Annie) Toles of Taylor, Mississippi and Richard Toles of Oxford, Mississippi. Seventeen grandchildren, twenty-five great-grandchildren, eight great-great-grandchildren; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and other friends to mourn her passing.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Wallace Stokes Sr.; sons, W.C. Stokes and George L. Stokes; brother, Ozell Toles; sister, Alean Harris; and grandson, Carlos Scott.
The Sanders Service
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