Born Etta Lee Rumley, January 27, 1940 to Marguerite Ledford Rumley and Robert Aaron Rumley of Dyersburg, Tennessee, Etta made her mark on the world early.

In school, Etta excelled at spelling, math, and cotton picking.  She was the President of her Senior Class, voted Best All Around, and only got caught sneaking out once.  Daddy Robert made sure of that.

Etta graduated salutatorian missing valedictorian due to her inability to type without looking at her hands resulting in her one and only "B".

Her plans for University of Memphis were thwarted when she met and fell in love with George "Wendell" West.  They married on November 27, 1958, during an early snowstorm.  Their marriage survived 63 ½ years of every kind of storm.

They set up house on Speedway where they welcomed daughter Rhonda in 1961. Rent was $20 a month!

She began working at General Appliance and Furniture Company as a receptionist where she went into labor with second daughter Carol and finished her shift in, according to her mother-in-law, "5 inch heels".  Like a true woman of Proverbs 31, she tended to her home and provided love and support to her devoted husband.

Etta was a bit of a feminist being one of the first women to wear a pant suit "in public" and abandon the beehive hairdo.  Despite her reluctance to be a "typical" 1960's woman, she was a devoted Christian, daughter, sister, wife, and mother.

Eventually, the West family moved to Ridgeway where Etta kept the neighbors fed and the kids outside.

By the time the family moved to Laura Lane their house became the go to place for all the teens, providing them with a pool table, piano, and an abundance of chocolate chip cookies, cinnamon rolls, brownies, and potato chips. Also, after moving to Laura Lane, Etta continued working at General Appliance and Furniture Company and kept her friends and family entertained with card games, stories, and endless phone calls.  Every dinner party was a spread worthy of "Good Housekeeping".  She was a role model to a generation of young women on etiquette and the importance of cleaning the make-up out of your eyebrows.

Etta enjoyed a special relationship with her sister Gwen and Gwen's daughter Angela.  She embraced Angela's husband, Kenny, and their children Michael, Missy, Magen, and Mallory as her own. She served as an example in fulfilling all family duties and enveloping everyone in love.  Etta made sure to make frequent visits to Newbern to spend time with her in-laws including nieces Cynthia and Sharon, and nephews Chris, Bret and Joel.

Etta was well known for her Bridge skills, chocolate pie, and ability to see humor in every situation.

With true southern hospitality, she and Wendell welcomed sons-in-law Donnie Ivey and Jay Parham into the family; giving these guys probable unrealistic expectations regarding cooking and cleaning skills their wives should possess.

Etta was a devoted member of Parr Avenue Church of Christ and was a founding sister as far back as the original Tucker Street congregation. She continued to be an example of a true Christian woman to those around her.

Etta eagerly welcomed grandchildren Danielle(Guillo), Mitch(Casey), Krissy(Chris), and Ian. She also loved and treated Magen(Alex), Mallory(Ty), and all her greats: Brett, Sophia, Brielle, Emmett, Sadie, Gwen, and Madeline, as her own. She enjoyed many holidays with Steven and Blake Alford. When she was given her prognosis, she was saddest to think about missing the birth of great-grandchild Harper Parham, great-great nephew Shepherd McCullouch, and Ian's law school graduation.

She fought her stage 3C ovarian cancer diagnosis for 12 years with her trademark stubbornness and grace. Dr. Linda Smiley used all her knowledge and skill which enabled Etta to see and hold newborn grands and greats and see her beloved "golden child" Ian graduate HS, college, and successfully complete 2 years of law school.  She has never wavered in her commitment to God, her husband and family, and her friends who were part of her village.

Her family would like to extend special thanks to care givers Ruth Porter, Shamilla Toomes, Cheryl White, Laquita Bradley, Desi Hassel, Franchesta Swift, and Darlene Tatum.  They filled Mom's last days with love and compassion.  Lifelong friend Kim Reynolds provided comfort and expertise in care. They were able to ease Wendell's mind as to her peace during transition. Avalon Hospice provided additional support and medical comfort when it was needed the most.

Survivors include her husband, G. Wendell West of Dyersburg, TN; two daughters, Rhonda Ivey (Donnie) of Dyersburg, TN and Carol Parham (Jay) of Crestview, FL; four grandchildren, Danielle Torres (Guillo), Mitch Parham (Casey), Krissy Halbert (Chris) and Ian Reagan; and three great-grandchildren, Sophia Torres, Brielle Torres and Sadie Torres.

We hope her greeting in Heaven, once she sees her Savior's face, begins with wrapping Fat Mama and Daddy Robert in her arms and hugging Gwen. There may be some jostling over who gets to hold baby Sam. We hope Angella makes enchiladas and Pat makes her laugh until she pees.  We hope Martha, Sue, Parks, and Polly are already shuffling a deck of cards. We hope Pap-Paw hollers for "Etter" and Granny serves sweet rolls for dessert.

We can imagine her filling Mark in on Ian's success and hopefully she can spare Tuffy a hug even if she acts like she doesn't want to.  William will be happy to throw a joke her way and find some way to tease her about it.

To special brothers and sisters in Christ as well as lifelong friends, Ralph, Janice, and Wanda, she never stopped talking about your love and support.  We also want to thank our village of families: church, neighborhood, and friends for the prayers, food, cards, phone calls, and flowers. If you want to honor Etta, love God and each other, hold your shoulders back, fix your face, and don't hang out, it looks trashy.

All of our lives just became a little dimmer.

"Save the box" If you know, you know.

Arrangements are at the direction of Dyersburg Funeral Home.  Services will be in the chapel Tuesday, June 7 at 3pm.  Visitation will take place from 1-3pm prior to the service.  Officiating will be Bros. Scott Owen and Mark Anderson. Serving as pall bearers will be Randy Golden, Tim McCraw, Terry Seaton, Kevin Wilkerson, Keith French, and Joe Jennings.  Honorary pall bearers will be Carl Schultz and Jack Reese.  Burial will be in Dyer County Memorial Gardens.  In lieu of flowers donations can be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Etta's memory.