Obituary of Zelda Mae Tolar

Zelda Mae Tolar passed away peacefully January 31, 2023. She went to meet Jesus and all the loved ones who preceded her in death at the age of 87. Zelda is survived by her daughter, Peggy, and her husband, Larry Lewis and her son Larry Haynes, her sister Carlyn Dreisbach and her three children, Traci Jackson Spencer, Paul Dreisbach, and Amanda Dreisbach Rumsey, as well as their families, her four grandchildren and their families, Jonathan and Erin Lewis, David (16), Alexandria (15), Abigail (12), and Annabelle (8), Katherine (Katie) Lewis and her son Ayden Young (13) and Katie's fiance Andrew Stauffer and his children Tyrese and Hailee, Andrew and Julie Lewis, Cameron (14), Bethany (3) and Ava (11 months), Jennifer and Jonathan Kirk, Samuel (3) and Nicholas (10 months). Nana will be missed by all her grandchildren and great-grandchildren who visited her often. We will be having a Celebration of Life Memorial Service on Wednesday, February 8, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. at Greenville Oaks Church of Christ honoring Zelda's life. In lieu of flowers, we would request donations to the American Cancer Society. Zelda Mae Sharp was born on October 23, 1935 to Carl (Red) and Ozella Sharp; they lived in Vanderbilt, Texas where Zelda stayed until after high school. She married Clarence Alexander (Smokey) Haynes; they had two children, Peggy Lynn and Larry Clarence. Sadly, Smokey was taken from them due to cancer after eight short years leaving Zelda alone with two children. They were living in Victoria and moved to Houston shortly after Smokey's death. Zelda worked for Service Brokerage and had many friends there. She then worked for Ames Oil and Gas where she was the Executive Secretary to C. B. Ames until her retirement. The people there were like a family to Zelda. One of our greatest memories during this time was attending The Herrington Family Reunion in Lampasas, Texas every 4th of July. It kept all of the Herrington family close for many years. Then, our family would travel to Dallas and spend a week with our cousins, the Bill Vaught family. Special events were planned for every day we were there. These two events were the highlight of our summers! After 8 years, Zelda met James D. Tolar; they were married on June 21, 1969 so Zelda became Zelda Sharp Tolar. Zelda is also survived by Jim's children, Jim Tolar and Denise Tolar and their families. Integrating two separate families can be hard, especially after only being the three of us for eight years. We grew to be a family; Zelda and Jim were married for 45 years and loved each other very much. We attended Sharpstown Church of Christ and had many wonderful friends there. Zelda and Jim enjoyed traveling in their camper to the Blue Ridge Mountains as well as weekend camping. They purchased a lakehouse at Lake Livingston and spent weekends there. They took their grandchildren with them whenever they could. They attended the Onalaska Church of Christ and made long-lasting friendships. After retiring, they moved to a lakehouse on Cedar Creek Lake in Mabank, Texas where they attended Athens Church of Christ. This was a very special time for them being close to Larry and having family visit often. They then moved to McKinney, Texas to be closer to family and doctors; they attended Greenville Oaks Church of Christ. They made so very many wonderful friends at Greenville Oaks. Zelda was known for her gift of sending cards and keeping in touch with friends, even from second grade in Vanderbilt. She sent birthday cards, Christmas cards, get well cards - any occasion that was special in her friends' lives. Zelda also had a great love for babies and taught them at church on Sunday mornings. This led to her keeping babies for families. Her very first was Sam Belk who she adored; she loved keeping him. She also kept Jacob Kirby for years. She loved Jacob, and he loved her. Jacob kept Zelda and Jim's life and then Zelda's life full of stories and adventures. There were many other children she kept through the years; they were all very special to her in their own way. Precious children! Zelda's other great love was her dogs; she had many since she was a little girl. She never met a dog she didn't love! Zelda loved to travel. Zelda and Jim joined Larry and his friend Wes on an Alaskan cruise and had a wonderful time. Zelda met Peggy's family in England for a vacation, traveled another time to Germany, and then to Thailand. These were fun memories. Jim did not share in these adventures because he was afraid of flying over the ocean because of sharks! In 2019 Zelda was diagnosed with dementia. It gradually progressed and she moved to Christian Care of Allen. Of course, COVID happened and was a hard time for everyone since we could not see her for over a year, except through a window. Peggy and Larry moved Zelda to a guesthouse on their property so she would be close to family. Zelda was especially appreciative of her granddaugher Katie's help in managing her banking and other affairs for so many years; it was a huge help! We want to express our loving gratitude to Erin Lewis who was my mom's caregiver during the day. My mom and Erin became very connected; she did a wonderful job of caring for my mom. We would also like to give thanks for Three Oaks Hospice who cared for my mom during her last months. Our nurse Joanna was a wonderful support to us and caregiver to Zelda. We were so thankful to have Zelda close during this time, especially in the end where she could be surrounded by those who love her.