Ouida-Gay Upchurch Howell, 79, passed away Saturday, May 25, 2019, surrounded by family after a short illness.
Ouida-Gay was born in Norfolk and was the youngest of five children. She was a graduate of Norview High School. She began working as a telephone operator before getting married and moving to the Peninsula and starting her family.
Soon after the birth of her second child, she began a 40-plus year career at Holloman Pontiac and Peninsula Honda. Her coworkers quickly became her extended family; however, being a grandmother became her favorite job.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Colquitt Alfred Upchurch and Marie Ethel Upchurch; and siblings, Anna Aurora Mueller, Virginia Hope Leary, Dorothy Marie Bagnell and Colquitt Alfred Upchurch Jr.
She is survived by her daughter, Kelly Ann Howell-Henley, and her husband, Cody Michael Henley; son, Kenneth Colquitt Howell, and his wife, Mary Lynn Bradley-Howell; former husband, Kenneth Roy Howell Jr.; grandchildren, Rhett Coleman Henley, Morgan Frances Howell, Madison Nicole Howell and Tyler Colquitt Howell.
The family will receive friends from 10 to 11 a.m., Thursday, June 6, at St. Mary’s Star of the Sea on Fort Monroe. A funeral Mass will begin at 11 a.m. at the church with the Rev. Father Eric Anokye officiating. Interment will follow in Peninsula Memorial Park.
Her granddaughter, Morgan, wrote: “Mimi was such a model of love for me, I feel like the best way to honor her memory is to send more love out in the world.”
In lieu of flowers, please donate your time or money to a cause close to your heart.
