Ava Mae Lawing Jenkins

Ava Mae Lawing Jenkins, 82, of Marion, departed to be with the Lord on Tuesday, January 7, 2025 at the CarePartners Hospice Solace Center.

A native of Marion, she was born on September 2, 1942 to the late Ben Lawing and Annie Reel Lawing. Having come from a large family, Ava was also preceded in death by ten siblings, as well as her loving husband of 54 years, Cecil Jenkins, who passed away on September 5, 2014.

Ava graduated from Glenwood High School in 1960 where she created lifelong friendships and enjoyed playing basketball. She spent a brief period of her life working in textiles before she started Jenkins’ Draperies, a business she ran for over forty years. She was a very skilled seamstress, and this was a labor of love for her as she became well-known in the community for her custom draperies. Ava was a longtime, faithful member of Bethel Baptist Church where she had served as a Sunday School teacher, VBS Director, and worked with the Children’s Church over the years. Above all else, she had a great love for her Lord, her family, and her church family. 

She is survived by her three children, Jeff Jenkins (Mary), Angie Hall, and Lori Poteat (Brian); four grandchildren, Alan Jenkins (Gladys), Kendall Holloway (Chris), Adam Hall, and Gracie Poteat; three great-grandchildren, Cecil Jenkins, Julianne Jenkins, and Annie Holloway; three siblings, Barbara Nelson (Jerry), Jearline Flynn, and Boyce Lawing (Joan); numerous nieces and nephews; and a lifelong friend, Loretta Eastus of Cleburne, Texas.

The family will receive friends on Friday, January 10, 2025 from 11:00 until 1:00 p.m. at Bethel Baptist Church. The funeral service will begin at 1:00 p.m. with Mr. Dean Rose officiating. Burial will be private in the church cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to be made to the Solace Center in Asheville.