Rhonda Williams Tolbert

SERVICES:  WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2015 11:00 A. M. MCCLAIN-HAYS CHAPELVISITATION:  TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 20155:00 - 8:00 P. M. INTERMENT:  EASTLAWN  CEMETERYOFFICIATING:  REV. FRED BRITTONRhonda Williams Tolbert, 63, of Philadelphia, Mississippi, passed away at Anderson Regional Medical Center in Meridian, Mississippi, Sunday, April 19, 2015, surrounded by her family.  She had suffered many years with multiple sclerosis. Rhonda was born May 7, 1951, in Atlanta, Georgia, where she spent her early childhood. The family moved to Memphis in 1955 where she attended elementary and high school, graduating from Messick High School. She paid her way through college at Memphis State University, receiving a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a major in accounting.  Following this period, she worked for the Plough Company in Memphis where she met her future husband of 30 years, Gene Tolbert. In 1986, she and Gene moved to Philadelphia where both attended First United Methodist Church.  In the early years, she took up painting as a hobby. Rhonda never let her progressing illness keep her from having a happy and positive outlook on life. She was always a very kind person and enjoyed being a member of the Tolbert family activities. She was predeceased by her parents, Robbie Leah and Bernice Williams.   Survivors include her husband, Gene Tolbert of Philadelphia, Mississippi; daughter, Leah Tolbert of Oxford, Mississippi; sister, Gloria Ann Mulroy of Memphis, Tennessee, with whom she spoke daily, and her brothers, Kenneth Williams (Linda) of Nashville, Tennessee, and Ronald Williams (Jenny) of Tuscaloosa, Alabama; as well as numerous nieces and nephews and their families.Pallbearers were Keith Williams, Patrick Mulroy, Jonathan Mulroy, Jared Clark, Randy McClellan, Cameron Tawater and Cody Tawater. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to theNational Multiple Sclerosis Society, Mississippi Office (Madison), 145 Executive Drive, Suite 1, Madison, MS 39110 or your favorite charity.