MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Orange Mound residents are celebrating the life of a community legend.
Funeral services for Loise Valentine were held Saturday at Grace Temple Ministries Church Of God In Christ. They included a carriage-drawn procession down Park Avenue and through Orange Mound.
For over 20 years, Valentine became known as "Ms. Orange Mound," a title residents said is very fitting for her, having moved to Orange Mound in the early 1960s as a teenager.
Residents said Valentine would often be seen all over "The Mound," whether it was at one of the corner stores, visiting other Orange Mound friends and family or just taking a stroll through the park.
There was no one more proud to be a resident of Orange Mound.
"Loise was a fixture in the community," said James Davis, Valentine's nephew. "Ask her about any person or any business and she could tell you all you need to know – and more."
Orange Mound was not just home, but also served as a source of fun and excitement for Lois' entire family.
Whether it was the Orange Mound swimming pool, that Davis said had it's heyday in the 1980s and 1990s but has now been closed for over a decade, or the late evening basketball courts of Brentwood Park, residents would find her and her kids enjoying it all.
"Orange Mound has changed and keeps changing, but I ain't going anywhere else, Orange Mound will always be home," Valentine said recently.
She lost her life Saturday, February 12, in a house fire.
Wednesday, Orange Mound residents held a candlelight vigil and balloon release in Valentine's front lawn on Carnes Avenue.