Ada Grissom

Ada Lee Wilbanks Grissom was born Oct. 10, 1920 in Butler, OK to Ada and Leslie Bryan Wilbanks. She lived there helping her parents in their store and barbar shop until completing high school in 1937 at the age of 16. Ada Lee had her own radio show her senior year where she sang the top hits of the times to the listening audience and tapped danced for the watching crowd. A frequent visitor to her home was the movie star, Gene Autry. He and his singing group not only found refuge in their home, but found it a great place to rehearse for upcoming events using Ada Lee and her friends as critics. Ada Lee took the state championship each year she was in high school in dramatics, piano, and voice. It was in high school that she learned her love of teaching. The small school did not have a grade school music teacher, so Ada Lee taught music to grade school children her last 3 years of high school.

After completing one year of college in Ventura, CA, she went to Howard Payne University in Brownwood, TX where she met and later married Carl J. Grissom in 1941. She worked on her teaching degree while there. Then, she and Carl went to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where she helped Carl obtain a his masters degree and helped him pastor 4 part time churches.

After seminary they moved to Alamo, TX, where Carl was the pastor of a small Baptist church and Ada Lee taught second grade and music in the public school. She loved teaching and continued teaching after they moved to Crosbyton, TX in 1948. There she taught first and second grade. It was here that their only daughter was born in 1950.

In 1955, they moved to Andrews, TX, where she spent 25 years teaching piano in her home and the Bible to senior girls in her church. She loved to sing and was a faithful choir member and occasionally assisted at the piano. She taught in Vacation Bible School, was the president of her Womens Missionary Union, and was the best side kick any pastor could have.

The couple semi retired in 1979 to El Paso, Texas where they assisted in teaching and fund raising for the International Baptist Bible Institute, then fully retired to Odessa, TX in 1985. It was here that the teacher became a nurse to her husband for the next 11 years.

She had a full life and enjoyed her family, her church and all of her friends. She will be missed by the many who knew her and by all who loved her.

Ada Lee is survived by one daughter, Kay Williams, a son-in-law Dan Williams, and three grandsons, Seth, Jon, and Joshua Williams.
PGraveside services will be held on Friday August 15, 2008 at 11:00 A.M. at Sunset Memorial Gardenss

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