CASTLE HAYNE — Agnes Lucille Ashley departed this life to spend eternity with her Lord and Savior on Saturday, August 17, 2024. She passed peacefully surrounded by many members of her family. Agnes was born in Tifton, Georgia during the presidency of Calvin Coolidge on July 28, 1924. She was the daughter of the late Zephaniah Oscar Ashley and Maggie Lee Carr Ashley. Preceding her in death were her sibling twin sisters, Lottie and Lettie Ashley, Romell Harvard, an older sister, and brothers Jack Jones, Elmer Ashley, and David Ashley.
At an early age, Agnes’s parents moved to Lakeland, Florida where she attended and graduated from Lakeland High School. At the end of World War II, she married Henry Winfield Usilton, a war veteran. From this union came four children: Larry Winfield Usilton of Castle Hayne, N.C., Barbara Roberts of Biloxi, Mississippi, Carol Dianne Usilton of Mobile, Alabama, and Garry Winfield Usilton of Jasper, Alabama. In the course of time, her family grew to include eight grandchildren, seventeen great grandchildren, and three and a half great, great grandchildren. As a military dependent, Agnes and family moved from one base to another in Washington state, Florida, Illinois, the Azores, and Mississippi. Along the way, Agnes was a dutiful wife and mother, but she also spent many years in the business world where she managed several retail women’s clothing stores. Following the death of her husband in 1974, Agnes relocated to Jasper, Alabama where she lived for many years with her younger son, Garry Usilton. During this period, Agnes became heavily involved in Christian work with a number of local churches. Indeed, her greatest love and interest was her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. She was beloved by all who knew her. The last years of her life were spent under the care of her eldest son, Larry Usilton and his family in Castle Hayne, N.C.
Agnes Lucille Usilton lived a long, wonderful life. A member of the so-called “greatest generation,” Agnes endured the ravages of the Great Depression and the horrors of World War II. She followed the exploits of seventeen presidents and witnessed many wonderful developments in the fields of medicine, agriculture, technology, space exploration and other areas. She will be missed terribly.
Funeral Services will be conducted at 11 a.m., Wednesday, August 21, 2024, at Temple Baptist Church. Entombment will follow at Oleander Memorial Gardens. The family will see friends from 10 a.m. until service time.
