Christmas won't be quite as merry this year. For decades, the ornaments of Gay Street decorated many a Christmas tree in Mississippi. Sadly, the renowned artist recently passed away.
Posted below are some of the newspaper articles chronicling her work over the years. A child prodigy of sorts, she enrolled in Mississippi College at the age of 14. She and her husband, Luther, both teachers in Jackson Public Schools were firm believers in education. So much so that none of her three children missed a single day of school. She even exposed them to the chicken pox in the summer so they would not miss a lick of learnin'.
Making the ornaments was truly a family affair. The Streets spent many a Friday night painting and baking in that large workroom behind their home. The ornaments grew in popularity and became a regular fixture at the craft shows. Fortune smiled upon the hard work, rewarding her with a commission to decorate Mississippi's Christmas tree at the Governor's Mansion.
The ovens are now cold and the paint brushes finally rest as she rejoins her husband. She was the salt of the earth, the bedrock upon which communities are built, and a blessing to all around her. She will be missed.
Obituary:
Charlotte Gay Street, 77, died Saturday, July 11, 2020, at her home. Born on January 7, 1943, in Gulfport, MS, she is the daughter of the late Guy Milton and Marie Stigall. She graduated from Gulfport High School at age 14, then continued her education at Mississippi College, earning her degree in Education. Mrs. Street taught science at Chastain Junior High School and Hardy Junior High School where she met her husband, Luther.
Mrs. Street was well known for her 40-year business making Christmas ornaments that brought joy to thousands of people. She began making Christmas ornaments in 1971 and was one of the original exhibitors of the Canton Flea Market. Her ornaments are across the globe, and can be found on every continent except Antarctica. Mrs. Street cherished spending time with her family and loved to travel.
She was a member of Parkway Baptist Church. Mrs. Street is preceded in death by both of her parents, as well as her husband, Luther W. Street.
7 comments:
Didn't know her but Wilson Stribling of Wlbt on his Facebook page put up a story that Walt Grayson did 10 years ago about her.
She was my science teacher at Chastain Jr. High, 1966/1967 school year. I remember as being very passionate about learning. She was a great teacher.
My parents were long time friends of the Streets and I have many fond memories of Gay and Luther. Both were smart, funny, and had rather distinctive voices; great conversationalists. When Luther passed away in 2011, a C-L writer penned an a nice article about him. It was really sad to see Gay pass as well.
She brought her kids to my house to get chicken pox (from me...)
Think the Victorian Christmas in Canton may also get dinged. Not that it matters much and will save money.
Gay (Stegall) Street was my 7th grade science teacher at (then) Hardy Junior High School & Luther Street was my 9th grade Mississippi History teacher, also at Hardy. They represented the best of the Jackson Public School system.
Why did they quit teaching? The business took off and Dr. Robert Fortenberry. He instituted CBOK and persecuted teachers.
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