Memorials › Dollie B Westmoreland Mosley

Dollie B Westmoreland Mosley

19 Nov 1922 – 26 Jun 2010

Birth	19 Nov 1922
Death	26 Jun 2010
Cemetery	Old Bethel Cemetery Phalba , Van Zandt County , Texas , USA
Added by	Donny Fisher on 06 Jan 2013
FaG	https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/54604936

Bio

Athens Review, Athens, Texas June 28, 2010 Dollie B. Mosley Dollie passed away June 26, 2010 in Tyler. She was the daughter of Robert Lee Westmoreland and Mamye B. Lindsey Westmoreland. Dollie was preceded in death by her great-granddaughter Kaylie Mosley, her parents, five brothers and four sisters. Survivors include: •Husband: James Alvin Mosley; • Sons and daughters-in-law: Bill F. and Patty Smith of Trinidad / James Dewey and Deborah Mosley of Terrell / Robert D. Mosley of Athens; • Daughters and sons-in-laws: Dottie and Harold Fisher of Waxahachie / Sharon G. Mosley of Canton / Patricia L. and Jimmy Dowdy of Mabank; • 16 grandchildren / 23 great-grandchildren / four great-great-grandchildren. Services are scheduled for 10 a.m., Tuesday, June 29, 2010 at Eubank Funeral Chapel in Canton. Interment will be at Old Bethel Cemetery. Visitation will be Monday 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Throughout Dollie's life she kept a journal of her life events. From her entries, the family has put together the following information, and would like to share her story. Dollie was born in Payne Springs, Texas on November 19, 1922. She was the 8th of ten children. Her mother died when she was very young - 2-½ years-old in March of 1925. After her mother died, her dad finally settled the family to Rockwall County, about eight miles from Heath, Texas. She lived in a two-room shack, picking and hauling cotton for all the farmers around there. They were very poor people then, and didn't have enough to eat half the time. There were eight of the kids then. Before Dollie was born, one child, a girl was still born, and one brother died when he was eight years-old. There were so many things that happened in Dollie's life then. Her oldest sister was married, and just after her mother died. Her father could not find work, and they didn't have any food to eat. Her brother Jake would hunt rabbits and fish, and the family would gather to build a fire outside, and cook them by holding them over the fire 'till they were done enough to eat. She remembered those days well. For a short time after her mother died, her father had taken all the children to stay with his brother's family in Grand Saline, Texas. Her father left the children to find work, and when he would visit, he would bring them a big bag of candy. Dollie remembered during this time the girls didn't have any underwear to wear. Those times were very difficult. One day, her father returned to inform the children he married a woman with five kids, and that a big farmer in Heath, Texas needed some hard help. At this time, there were seven of the children at home, in addition to the new five the house, now had 12 children, total. For a while, she thought this would be better for all the kids. Her stepmother made the girls' dresses and underwear out of feed sacks. They lived in a 3-room shack about eight miles from Heath. The family still did not have much to eat then until President Roosevelt put all the men to work, and started P.W.A. The children got a few clothes and one pair of shoes a year - one dress she never forgot. The family was given cheese, rice and powered milk that the children enjoyed so much, but there was not enough to go around. Soon it got to where her stepsisters and stepbrothers were fed first. Seeing how her stepmother loved her children made Dollie long for her mother that she never knew. Dollie and her younger brother Travis were very close. They longed for someone to tell them they loved them. Travis would help hunt animals like rabbits, possums and fish. He tried to keep plenty for the family to eat. Her school days were very difficult. The children were made fun of because of their clothes, and because they did not have a real mother. No one cared if they were dirty or clean, or if they learned anything or not. Dollie remembers the schoolhouse in Heath as being a big 2-story house. When they started school, they each received a pair of shoes and one suit of clothes. She remembered getting one pencil a year. They were cedar pencils, and cost one cent. If she lost it, or someone stole it, then she would have to do without or sometimes the teacher would give them a new one. Her first grade teacher's name was Mrs. Adams. She told them many times she felt sorry for them. Dollie said she would never forget Mrs. Adams. She also remembered walking six to eight miles to school. If the kids were lucky, they would catch a ride on the way to school. She will never forget Mr. Piper. He was a big shot in Heath. He would let them ride with him if it was raining. He had a daughter named Claudie. The kids were happy to get a ride, even though they felt as though the Piper family was better than them. Dollie remembers the car squeaking all the time and Doris, her close friend, would laugh about it, but if Mr. Piper heard them he would make them walk. Dollie remembered the times being different then. Jake and Pollie, her older brother and sister, were still in school too, but the rest of the kids had already quit. She wondered why the other didn't go, and soon Jake and Pollie quit too. Then it wasn't long till Dollie and Travis quit. Dollie thought it was awful. She was in the 5th grade, and Travis was in the 3rd grade. The kids all needed someone to love them. They knew they had each other, but somehow that wasn't enough. They were not happy at all. The older kids all remember their mother, but Dollie and Travis did not. Her first Christmas she could remember was when they lived in a shack between Forney and Terrell on the Bennet Farm. Dollie remembers getting a pair of beads, and an orange. Dorothy Bennet got a doll and many other things. She couldn't understand why Santa brought Dorothy all that stuff, and didn't bring her much. There are so many things she didn't understand. Because of this, she loved her kids so much, and wanted them to be happy. She wanted her kids to have more than she did, and they do. She was happy that her children had a mother that loved them very much. There was much more to Dollie's life, and it never seemed right without her mother. She often tried to picture her life with her mother, but it was hard because she didn't know her. Even though Dollie did not know her mother, she knew her mother loved her. They family moved often. While living on the Bonney Duke Farm, her baby brother Travis had troubles. She loved him, and everyone called Dollie his "Little Mama." Dollie and Travis were inseparable. She worried about him all the time – he needed her. Dollie never forgot the time when Travis was bitten by a water moccasin in the spring. He was going to the mailbox, and had to cross a creek. The neighbor brought him home, and his foot was swollen about three times its size. No one was home but Dollie and her older brother Truman. Truman took him to Rockwall to the doctor. The doctor told Truman if he had been five minutes later, Travis would have been dead. He had to walk on crutches for a long time. During this time, she knew how Travis missed his mother, because she did too. Things went along pretty good for a while until the fall when they got the measles. Her father made them pick cotton, and pull boles in the rain. She knew Travis had fever, and didn't need to be out there. Their stepmother Dora said they just didn't want to work. By this time all her kids were grown and gone, and all of Dollie's brothers and sisters were gone except for Truman, John and Travis. She begged her father to let Travis go to the house, but mom Dora said no, so they all had to stay and work. She remembered a neighbor came over and told her father that Travis had fever and had measles, and needed to go to the house. Dollie was sick with the measles too, so her father took Travis to the house, and told mom Dora what the neighbor, Tom Brook, said about Travis being sick. That night the Brook family came over and told her father they were going to take Travis to Parkland hospital. Travis was in the hospital for six weeks. He was 13 years-old then, and almost died. Dollie knew if he was gone, she didn't want to stay there without him. Travis made her feel needed. Her whole life revolved around him then. She hurt when he hurt. During this time her father and stepmother treated Travis mean. When he came home from the hospital, Dollie could not hear well. The measles had settled in her ears. It wasn't long before Dollie started going to country parties that Truman would take her to. By then, Travis had his own friends, and Dollie met her first husband, Bill Smith. She didn't really know what love was, but he asked her to marry him, and she thought it would be better than her life at home, but she was wrong. Bill was a good boy and he loved her so much, and she just knew they would have a good life together – but fate didn't go her way. She still didn't have any luck with her life and it was still bad. She married Bill Smith on September 1, 1939, and in late 1940s, Bill got sick. Dollie was just a kid, 16 years-old. Mr. Smith, Bill's dad, told her that insanity ran in his family, and Bill would have to go away. Bill was the first person that she remembers that ever told her he loved her. It hurt Dollie bad when Bill left and when he didn't even know her sometimes. She was pregnant with Billy her first son when Bill was put in Terrell State Hospital. Dollie got through it the best she could because she was used to bad times, but it seemed like things were more than she could bear. Dollie had thought it was over, but it had actually just begun. Bill did not know he had a son until one of the other patients told him. Dollie remembers him being so sweet just like William – her grandson. Bill had a rough time. He would be home for a while, and then he would have to go back. She got pregnant for the second time with their daughter Dottie, and it was hard. She needed her mother very much during this time. She didn't have anyone to love her when Bill was sick, feeling like she was right back where she started when she was a child. When Bill was sick, he was afraid she was going to leave him, but she never would. For about 10 years, he was in and out of the hospital. She and the kids had a hard time, but they made it. They would be so happy when he was home. Then the end came for Bill. He got sick on Wednesday. She took him to Alexandra Hospital in Terrell, Texas. He died Friday, March 23, 1950 at the age of 29 years-old. The doctors never knew what Bill died from. Her family was tested for T.B., but still they did not know what happened. Bill was so young, and such a good nice-looking person. Sometimes she would wonder why this happened. It was a terrible time for Dollie. She was 26 years-old, and had two kids, Billy Frank Smith, born November 11, 1940, and Dollie "Dottie" Lavonia Smith, born September 1, 1942, which she loved very much. This was another time in her life that she needed her mother. She latter married James Alvin Mosley in 1953. She was so happy then, and he is a good man. She felt as though God sent him to her. They had four sweet children, two boys, James Dewey and Robert Donald, and two girls, Sharon Gayle and Patricia Lynn. James and Dollie had never spent a night apart. Dollie and James raised their children in Lancaster, Texas, and retired to Van Zandt County in 1978. They opened Mosley's Trading Post in the late 80's, located on Highway 19 in Walton. Before moving to the country, and after Truman, her brother died, Dollie put together a band called, "Dollie Mosley & The Westerners." The band was a family business produced by her husband James. Dollie played vocal and rhythm, while her daughter Sharon played bass, and her daughter Pat played rhythm. The band also consisted of Earl Briggs, Steel Guitar - Rodger Roe, Drums – A. Gonzales, Drums – Lightning Roe, Fiddle. The band published seven or eight records during the 60s and 70s. • The following information was published on the back of Dollie's "Best Of" record. Dollie Westmoreland Mosley was born in Payne Springs, Texas. Her mother died when she was three years-old. Her father was a sharecropper. Her family went through hard times during those early years. Her oldest brother was a fiddle player, and played with Ernest Tubb some. Dollie's younger brother also was a good guitar player and singer. After they died, she decided to get a band together. She played all around Texas and Oklahoma, and had a live radio show for about a year. She wrote the lyrics and music for about seven songs. Her records were cut at Leo Teel Recording Studio in Grand Prairie, Texas. She also wrote three country gospel songs: Crossroads In Heaven, Angels' Band (about her brother playing his fiddle with the angels), and I Shall Call My Children Home. Dollie played Memorial Auditorium in Dallas for a Christmas show. She played with Cactus Pryor. She had an extended engagement at Panther Hall in Fort Worth, and kicked off the Nashville Stars show when they came to Panther hall. She had shows on satellite, and some of her old radio shows still can be heard on the Internet. Four of Dollie's children play music.

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Dottie Lavonia Smith Fisher 1943–2011

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