Hester Hasseltine Shrable Pendergrass, 99

Funeral services for Hester Hasseltine Shrable Pendergrass, 99, of Bakersfield, will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021, at Central Church of Christ in West Plains. Mrs. Pendergrass will lie in state from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at Robertson-Drago Funeral Home in West Plains. She died Nov. 20 at Mercy Hospital in Springfield. 

She was born July 9, 1922, in Vidette, Arkansas, the daughter of Ralph Emerson and Lillie Leeann Worsham Shrable. On Jan. 29, 1938, in Salem, Arkansas, she married Roy Lester Pendergrass. 

They made their home in Bakersfield. Mr. Pendergrass was a farmer, barber and schoolteacher. Mrs. Pendergrass was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and homemaker to her husband, children and grandchildren. She still resided on the family farm until her departure, spending many wonderful hours with her immediate family of 75-plus members. 

She was a member of the Central Church of Christ. As the matriarch of a huge family, her greatest legacy will be the Christian example of her daily walk with her Lord. She studied her Bible and followed God’s commandments and was ready for her long-awaited reward. 

Mrs. Pendergrass loved her children and grandchildren with all her heart. She had the ability to make each individual feel very loved, and she spoiled them as much as she dared. After spending countless hours on the farm with Grandma and Grandpa, the grandchildren will be able to reminisce about requesting their favorite Grandma-signature foods, including cocoa (chocolate) gravy and chocolate rolls. They will also remember spending time with Grandma and the cousins, enjoying afternoon popcorn breaks, swimming in the creek, playing games, feeding the birds and endless kittens, and having adventures on the farm. Perhaps most of all, they witnessed Grandma’s undying love for Grandpa and her love for Jesus and her family.

She leaves her family with faith, wisdom and precious memories to last a lifetime. 

She is survived by six children, Helen Harber and husband Russell of Battlefield, R.A. Pendergrass and wife Connie of Bakersfield, June Campbell and husband Joe of Raymore, Larry Pendergrass and wife Carol of Caulfield, Joy Holloway and husband Dan of West Plains, and Cathy Baird and husband Jackie of Rogersville; 12 grandchildren and their spouses; 26 great-grandchildren; seven great-great-grandchildren; three siblings, Lessie Shrable Clay, Joyce Shrable Hodges and husband Leon, and Jodie Shrable Sutherland and husband Ronnie, all of Viola, Arkansas; two sisters-in-law, Wanda Pendergrass Shurtleff and husband Ross of Marysville, Washington, and Faye Shrable of Lawrence, Kansas; and son-in-law Darrell Ricky Davidson; and her treasured caregiver, Shawn Kimbrough.   

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; her son, Roye Kenneth Pendergrass; her daughter, Peggy Sue Pendergrass Davidson; eight siblings, Lorene, Rudolph, Lucille, Lehman, Curtis, Audine, Betty and infant brother, Judgee; father-in-law and mother-in-law Horton and Fannie Pendergrass; and special niece Bonita Reynolds.   

Burial will be in Bakersfield Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Fair Haven Children’s Home or to Paragould Children’s Home and may be left at or mailed to Robertson-Drago Funeral Home, 211 W. Main St., West Plains, MO 65775. Online condolences may be expressed at robertsondrago.com.

Robertson-Drago Funeral Home, West Plains, directors. 

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
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