Obituary: Oleta Lane Randolph
Oleta Lane Randolph, 93, of Whiteville, passed away Wednesday, June 4, 2025, at home in Whiteville.
She was born in Batesville, Arkansas on Thursday, August 13, 1931, to the late Charles Grover and Bertha Mae Potter Lane. She lived in Memphis for all her youth and moved to Whiteville in 1965. On Christmas Day, 1949, she was married to Mr. Sherman Franklin Randolph who passed away on August 20, 1995, following 55 years of marriage. In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by a daughter, Darla Payne; a son, Robert Hopper; grandson, John Payne; great-grandson, Beck Dellinger; sister, June Holland; and brother, Verl Lane.
Mrs. Randolph retired in September 2001 from her duties as a registered nurse. Despite having only a third-grade formal education, she received her BSN, from Union University School of Nursing, at the age of 49, and went on to serve in Jackson, Somerville, and Western Mental Health in Bolivar. Additionally, she used her knowledge and skills, as a nurse, to help her community strive for better health. She also volunteered for the American Red Cross.
When she was a member of Whiteville Baptist Church, Mrs. Randolph was active in raising funds to repair the chimes at the church which, now, grace the community with a hymn every hour. Her Christian duty inspired her help bring about the establishment of the Cross which sets atop the water tower in Whiteville. She also led efforts to have the Cross erected on Highway 64 West in Whiteville at the corner of Ferguson Road. At the time of her passing, she was a member of Bolivar First Baptist Church.
Chapel services will be held at the Shackelford Funeral Home chapel on Friday, June 13, 2025, at 12 p.m. in Bolivar with private entombment at Highland Memorial Gardens in Jackson. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. on Friday, June 13, 2025, at the funeral home in Bolivar.
Survivors include four daughters, Patricia (Donnie) Ney of Maytown, Pennsylvania, Joleta (Marvin) Raines, Mary Randolph and Sherrie Lewis, all of Whiteville; one son, Michael (Patricia) Randolph of Shelbyville, Tennessee; one brother, Ralph Potter of Whiteville; daughter-in-law, Girlene Hopper of Toone; fourteen grandchildren; seventy-two great-grandchildren; and seventeen great-great-grandchildren.
In place of flowers, the family requests all memorials be sent to The American Cancer Society.
Courtesy of Shackelford Funeral Directors, Bolivar, Tennessee.
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