Mrs. Essie Wall's Obituary
Mrs. Essie Mae Wall, age 87, passed away in Houston, Texas on November 4, 2021. Essie was born on September 24, 1934 in Charlotte, North Carolina to James and Era Shippy and was raised by her loving grandparents, Essie and Vance Watts. Her musical ability was realized at a young age and she studied piano formally for twelve years. She played piano for St. Paul Baptist Church in Charlotte and also graced local radio stations with her soprano voice. Essie attended Barber Scotia college and later moved north to Ohio and Boston. She married Wallace Wall on March 1, 1958 in Boston, Massachusetts. They had two daughters, Deena Wall Buford and Linda Wall.
Mrs. Wall was a whiz with numbers and worked primarily as a bookkeeper for several entities including Getty Oil, Candies Shoes and the Nassau County Comptroller’s Office in Long Island, New York. Music remained her passion and through the years she continued to play the piano for churches, senior communities and directed choral groups.
Essie was the great-granddaughter of a Methodist pastor and anyone who met her knew that her faith was extremely important to her. She could often be found singing hymns with her beautiful voice and/or drilling her children on bible verses. She had a well developed sense of humor and never missed reading the comic section of the newspaper while explaining that “humor was a sign of high intelligence”. She was also a news ‘junkie’ and followed local and world events until the day of her death. She was socially conscious and very active in the UNCF and other community organizations; she donated money generously to charities.
Essie Mae was preceded in death by her husband Wallace Wall. She is survived by her daughters, Deena Wall-Buford of Houston,Texas (Reginald), Linda Wall of Wilmington, NC, her grandchildren, Amanda Russell (Ty), Candace Metts (Jonathan), Reginald Buford Jr., Qaadir, Haliymah, Waliyyah and Hamiydah Hicks, and great-grandchildren Kennedy, Tyler and Ava Russell. Essie is also survived by close cousins Cynthia Richardson, Raymond Caldwell and Vance Caldwell as well as many other relatives and friends.
An evening visitation will be held on Sunday, November 14, 2021, 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. in the Rose Chapel of Mabrie Memorial Mortuary.
Her Celebration of Life service will be held on Monday, November 15, 2021, 10:00 a.m. at Trinity Downtown, 800 Houston Avenue, Houston, Texas 77007. Visitation will be prior to service starting at 9:00 a.m.
Livestream access to her service will begin at 10:00 a.m.: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wynqSIOApYs&feature=youtu.be
Her final resting will be at Friends Cemetery in Westbury, New York.
What’s your fondest memory of Essie?
What’s a lesson you learned from Essie?
Share a story where Essie's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Essie you’ll never forget.
How did Essie make you smile?
