Lyla Lee Derry Alexander, a resident of Country Club Village in Hot Springs, AR, died on Sunday, April 10, 2016 at the Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Center in Little Rock, AR.
Lyla Lee was born the second of three daughters on Sept. 30, 1921, in Princeton to Francis and Hazel Higgins Derry. She and her older sister, Ledonnia, were graduated from Princeton High School in 1938. Lyla Lee relished relating the fact, time and again, that she started the first grade at age four and that she and LeDonnia never missed one day of school throughout their 12 years. At Princeton High School, Lyla Lee was crowned yearbook queen her freshman year and was elected president of the Class of 1938. On Dec. 24, 1939, the 20th wedding anniversary of her parents, Lyla Lee married Ross Alexander Jr. of Mercer. During Ross’ military service in the South Pacific in World War II, Lyla Lee returned to Princeton to live with her parents on their farm northwest of Princeton. It was during this time that the first of seven children, De Lyla, was born.
Following Ross’ return from the war, they settled in Spickard, where Lyla Lee worked both as a housewife and a teller at the Peoples’ State Bank. In 1960, Ross and Lyla Lee moved their six children to Houston, TX where their seventh child, Dempsey, was born. In 1962, the family moved to Arkansas, living in both Mountain Home and Harrison before moving to West Memphis in 1966. There, Lyla Lee spent the next 48 years raising her children and working at the Bank of West Memphis. She also was a member and officer in the West Memphis Chapter of Altrusa International and a member of Rosewood United Methodist Church, where she was an alto in the choir for several years.
In her retirement, Lyla Lee served as treasurer of the Crittenden County AARP, frequented senior citizen dances in Memphis, worked the polls, and attended exercise classes at the First Baptist Church. She enjoyed yard work and was quite proud of her well-manicured lawn on Arlington Drive for over three decades. She was a devoted NFL fan and, if the Manning ‘boys’ were playing, she was watching. On the NBA front, the Memphis Grizzlies was her team, even watching the Grizzlies play the Golden State Warriors (‘Curry’s team’) on the last day of her life. She was an avid fan of “Dancing with the Stars,” “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune.” On Sunday mornings, Joel Osteen was the main attraction.
Her husband, Ross, predeceased Lyla Lee in January 1972 as well as her longtime and loving companion, Wayne, in 2010.
She is survived by her daughters, De Lyla Alexander Spaid (Dallas, TX), and Dana Alexander (Arlington, TN) and sons, Doug and his wife, Chris (Atlanta, GA), Dwight and his wife, Simone (Fairhope, AL), Drew and his wife, Twylla (Jersey City, NJ), Dulles and his wife, Margo (Austin, TX), and Dempsey and his partner Todd Snow (Hot Springs Village, AR) She was the proud grandmother of 12, USMC Lt. Col Wes Spaid, Jeff and Steve Alexander, Erica Martini, Andrew and Tip Alexander, Rev. Jason Alexander, Elizabeth Alexander and Katherine Lewis, Brooke Choate and Ben Alexander and Abraham Alexander. She is also survived by 15 adoring great-grandchildren.
Family and friends will long remember this matriarch as a true steel magnolia whose strength, determination and love of family served as a lifelong inspiration for all. Her common refrain, “It always works out for the best,” provides much comfort following her passing.
A service celebrating Lyla Lee’s life will be scheduled in the coming weeks. In her memory, the family requests that you tend your gardens, hug your children and grandchildren, play Scrabble and dominoes and/or ‘cut a rug’ in her loving memory. Contributions in her memory could also be made to Our House, Hope for the Working Homeless, P.O. Box 34155 Little Rock, AR 72203 or the Derry Award at Princeton High School, 1008 E. Coleman St., Princeton, MO 64673.
Condolences to the family may be sent in care of Dempsey at 1 Onda Lane, Hot Springs Village, AR 71909.