Tossie (Williams) McKenzie

Vidalia,

Tossie Williams McKenzie, 102, passed from this life to the next on Tuesday, June 11, 2019, at Meadows Park Health and Rehabilitation Center after a long and well-lived life.  Miss Tossie was born on March 26, 1917, in Jefferson County, Georgia, to Luther and Mamie Humphrey Williams.  Later, they moved to Montgomery County where Tossie attended school.  She met and married the love of her life, Wilfred “Red” McKenzie, in 1934, and they moved to the Vidalia area where they raised their family of four boys.  Tossie was a beloved wife and mother, an excellent cook and housekeeper, and an extraordinary seamstress.  She worked for several years at the Globe Manufacturing Company where she set pockets in men's pants and was asked to sew samples of pants to be sent to prospective clients.  She sewed for her family and friends making everything from ordinary clothes to fancy wedding dresses and custom window treatments.  She worked alongside her husband in his construction business, keeping the books and altering house plans to fit the specifications of their customers.  She was an integral part of the business.  She and her family joined Tabernacle Baptist Church in the 1940s and were active members of that church.  She was their oldest church member and was a devoted member of the Emma Bell Darby Sunday School Class.  She also was a member of Trinity Baptist Church for some years, and had many friends there.  She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, one son, Theron, one beloved daughter-in-law, Sylvia Hill McKenzie (Ronnie), two grandchildren, one great-grandchild, two brothers, and four sisters.

Miss Tossie is survived by three sons, Max McKenzie and wife Ethelyn of Vidalia, Glen McKenzie and wife Geraldine of Vidalia, and Ronnie McKenzie and wife Cuba of Vidalia and Jacksonville, Florida; one daughter-in-law, Ruby Joyce McKenzie of Vidalia, and one sister, Nelma Cowen of Greenwood, South Carolina.  Three generations of children call her granny:  twelve grandchildren, twenty-five great-grandchildren, and seven great-great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held Friday, June 14th at 3:00 p.m. in the chapel of Ronald V. Hall Funeral Home with Reverend Ronnie McKenzie, Reverend Bobby Thompson and Reverend Gene Helton officiating.  Burial will follow in Lakeview Memorial Gardens.

The family will receive friends at the funeral on Thursday evening from 6:00 until 8:00. 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Tossie (Williams) McKenzie, please visit our floral store.