Melva Lee Wallace Rouse was born May 11, 1926 to Clarence Jefferson Wallace and Mary Ellen Shires Wallace of Evergreen, Ala. Her family moved south to Foley during the Great Depression, where she was educated and eventually married and started her own family with three children, Martha Ellen Lovell, Melva Jean “Diddy” Lovell and Charles Gerald Lovell.
She later married Walstein “Wally” Rouse and moved to Lakeland, Fla. in 1965, where her family continued to grow with her fourth child, Scott McCord Rouse.
She worked for many years as a lab technician and continued her career as a nurse until she retired in 1985.
She was a longtime member of the Scott Lake Baptist church in Lakeland. She was also a passionate member of the Ladies Oriental Shrine, the White Shrine and Zef Club, where she volunteered and helped raise funds for the hospital and many other great causes.
Melva was a genius on the sewing machine, and made numerous quilts, clothes, and other items over the years.
In 2008, she relocated to Charlotte, N.C. to live with her daughter and son-in-law.
Melva was preceded in death by her parents” husband “Wally;” daughter, “Diddy;” brother, Emery; and four sisters, Alice, Ruby, Sadie and Ann.
Left to cherish her unforgettable memories are her children, Martha Morgado (Jay), Charles Lovell Rouse and Scott Rouse (Laura); stepdaughter, Diane Skuse (Fazli Yagci); brother, Calvin Wallace (Louise); 27 grandchildren and great-grandchildren; 13 step-grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and a host of nieces, nephews and cousins.
Memorial services will be held Saturday, June 29, 2013, at 10 a.m., at Pine Rest Memorial Park, Foley.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her name can be made to Hospice Palliative Care, Charlotte, N.C.
