Ora Lee Atkins Young

Funeral services for Ora Lee Atkins Young will be held 11:00 am on Saturday, August 9, 2014 at The Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Natchitoches, LA. The family will receive friends from 5:30 pm until 7:30 pm on Friday, August 8, 2014 at Blanchard St. Denis Funeral Home. A recitation of the Rosary will be held during the visitation. Burial will be in Memory Lawn Cemetery in Natchitoches, LA. Ora Lee, 86 years of age, passed away in Natchitoches on August 01, 2014. She was preceded in death by her husband, John Burrhl Young. She is survived by her daughter, Eleanor Ann Young Cooke and her husband, Corbin, of Houston, TX; her granddaughters, Kathleen Castle Cooke and Caroline Carson Cooke of College Station, TX; her God-Daughter, Janet Smith Guidry and her son, Byron Guidry, Jr., her close friends J.W. Smith, Jr. and his wife, Faye, all of Natchitoches. Ora Lee was born to William and Ella Atkins, had four sisters and one brother, all raised in Natchitoches. She graduated from St. Mary's Academy in 1946. She was the Jitter Bug Queen and Dr. Kenneth Collins was the Jitter Bug King that year. She married JB Young in the late 1950's and named her only child after her respected doctor, Eleanor Mendell Worsley, in 1964. Ora Lee was an active member of The Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and the Catholic Daughters of the Americas for over 60 years. She retired from the Office of Family Services, State of Louisiana, after 32 years of service. Too young to fully retire, she was employed by the Natchitoches Parish Hospital as Director of Volunteer Services for 10 years. She also served as the official Immaculate Conception Church wedding coordinator for many years. She worked hard to preserve her beloved church and produce lovely wedding ceremonies. Ora Lee had a talent for creating beautiful flower arrangements and cross stitched and made many ring bearer pillows, including the one that appeared in the movie Steel Magnolias. She was a friend to many and will be missed. Charitable donations in Ora Lee’s name can be made to The Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 145 Church Street, Natchitoches, LA 71457 or The American Diabetes Association or the Alzheimer’s Association.