Loy Nell (Allen) Smelley

Funeral Services for Loy Nell Smelley, 83, of Corrigan will be held Friday, February 25, 2022 at 11:00 a.m in the First Baptist Church in Corrigan with Pastor Gary Forrest and Bro. Buster Grigg officiating. Visitation will be held at 10:00 a.m. prior to the service.

Loy Nell was born on March 20, 1938 in Houston to Lloyd and Julia (Fallen) Allen and went home to be with the Lord on Monday, February 21, 2022 in Lufkin.

Loy Nell attended Aldine High School and graduated in 1956. She was a Christian and a faithful member of First Baptist Church in Corrigan. At 21 years old, she was widowed with a 16-month-old child. Sam Smelley, who was a faithful friend, took care of her and they soon married. They married on June 25, 1960 and remained faithfully by each other’s side. They lived in Humble for 19 years and moved to Corrigan in 1979, where they made their home. She worked for Olson and Guerra Lumber Company in Humble for 10 years as an office manager. After moving to Corrigan, she served as church secretary from 1983 to 2003. She was known as Nana by her grandchildren and loved spending time with both.

Loy Nell was as fiery as her hair was red. She had an amazingly strong will and was loyal, compassionate, and kind. Her spirit filled every room she walked in, or as of late, rolled into with her red rollator. Her most prized treasure was her grandchildren, Paul and Kathryn. She loved spending time with the two of them, traveling across the U.S., all around Texas, many beach trips, or just to a favorite restaurant. She loved to see God’s beauty and traveled to Europe, Alaska, and Hawaii, whether by cruise ship, airplane or train. She would buy thimbles from all around the world to display in her house. This would create many travel story conversations. Anytime someone would bring up talk about a place they have gone, she would chime in with her experiences and try to educate the listener on what she learned while she was there. If she had never been to a place, she would intently listen to your story, making mental note that she would love to visit there too.

In high school, she became a master “seamstress”, making all her outfits. This love of sewing was embedded throughout her life as she made quilts for all the people in her life. This is how she shared her love and affection… if you got a quilt, you were blessed.

She had a witty sense of humor and was a whiz at Jeopardy. She loved learning about new things constantly and this challenged her mind. She read mostly historical books and used recipe books to try out new cooking dishes, as she also loved to cook.

She is preceded in death by her parents; sister, Mary Lou Meier; brother, James Allen; first husband, Jack Suttle; and son, Wes Suttle.

Loy Nell is survived by her husband, Sam Smelley of Corrigan; sisters and brothers-in-law, Pat and Joe Margiotta of Houston and Janice and Bill Swain of Round Rock; daughter-in-law, Jeanna Suttle of Corrigan; grandchildren, Paul Suttle of Houston, and fiancé, Ashley Hazen of Dallas; and Kathryn Suttle of Fort Worth; special niece, Jill Anderson; numerous nieces and nephews; special friends, Gwen Dickson Parrish and Donna Reynolds, both of Corrigan and Annette Brown of Waxahachie.

Pallbearers: Paul Suttle, Allen Margiotta, Shawn Margiotta, Scott Anderson, Mark Anderson, Leslie Kilgore, and Billy Reynolds.

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