Ozella Gloria Mildred Duckett Winbush Sampson

Ozella Gloria Mildred Duckett Winbush Sampson

Ozella Gloria Mildred Duckett Winbush Sampson was born Sept. 28, 1922 to Benjamin and Elvira Duckett in Alexandria, La. She was the cherished granddaughter of “Old Mama” Lucy Hobbs and “old Papa” Christopher Columbus Hobbs.

While still in in Louisiana, Mildred met and married Wilbert Winbush. From that marriage, they were blessed with five children. After many years, she moved to Los Angeles and met and remarried Hersey E. Sampson. They were blessed to have eight children.

As a child in Alexandria, she attended St. James Catholic school. She demonstrated her talent as a dancer and prolific play writer. She would share her play-writing gift doing stage performances for her family and friends. Mildred’s love for creativity and dancing began in Louisiana and continued after her move to Los Angeles. She exposed all her children to entertaining, literature, the arts and music. Mildred loved people and everyone was welcomed to her home.

One of Mildred’s many gifts was the ability to decorate her home with fashion and warmth. She was an excellent cook and anyone was welcome to a seat at her table. Mildred’s colorful life was filled with many longtime friends; shimmy-shake dancing; crossword puzzle solving; jazz; classical music; country-western and down home blues music and cooking. If it had a beat, Mildred liked it. She was a great joke-teller and loved to laugh. Mildred was a go-about and loved to go but she never learned to drive.

Included in her many interests, was teaching and interacting with young children. For a time she taught at a local Head Start program. That passion was extended when she moved to Hawthorne, Nev. To care for her ailing mother. She was a valued employee for a facility that mentored special needs children. All of these children reaped the benefit of her God given gift of nurturing.

Of great importance and significance to Mildred was her love of God’s word and her relationship with God and Jesus Christ as her personal Savior. She spent many hours reading her Bible.

Her crowing glory was being the source of five generations (mother, grandmother, great grandmother and great great grandmother).

Mildred was blessed with the birth of thirteen children: Frances J. Hornback; Wilbert B. Winbush; Melva V. LeForbes; Michael V. Winbush; Walter R. Winbush; Sharon R. La Violet; Jackie Sampson-Galbraith; Geraldine T. Sampson; Delores Muhammad; David Muhammad; Charles O. Sampson; Christopher C. Sampson and Leonard Sampson to cherish her lovely memory.

Two siblings: Hilda Lenston and Oscar Gordon, Jr. (preceded her in death.

She leaves 58 grandchildren, 86 great grandchildren and nine great great grandchildren. Her pal, Brownee and “chosen daughter #14” – Edythe Drayson, will miss her forever and a host of relatives and friends.