Ima Moreland 1933-2024

Ima Moreland
1933-2024
Ima Mae Hall Moreland, 90, of Springtown, passed peacefully Friday, Feb. 22, 2024.
In honor of Ima, there will be a celebration of life 2-4 p.m. Saturday, March 9 at New Hope Baptist Church, 782 New Hope Road, Boyd, in the fellowship hall.
Ima was born June 21, 1933, to Luster Evans Hall and Mabel Wren Hall. She grew up on the family farm in Springtown and attended Springtown schools, graduating as salutatorian in 1950.
She married Clifford Peters three days later and set off on a rocky road through several states as her husband was not the provider the family needed. In 1967, the family returned home to Texas and within a year, Ima had a good job and a divorce. She finished raising her four children without any help, financial or otherwise, from her ex-husband.
Ima met Lester in 1969 and they married in 1972. Their happy union lasted 45 years until his passing in 2017.
Besides her full-time job, she had several hobbies. She researched her family’s genealogy by traveling to Tennessee and other states and by corresponding by mail with distant relatives. She amassed a wealth of information for the family many years before the internet.
She was an excellent bowler and from 1970 on she bowled on a league. After her retirement, she joined a second league and bowled twice weekly until she was 88.
In the 1980s, she fell into doll collecting. Soon after, her three daughters joined her in that hobby. Many wonderful times were spent bonding through their collective love for dolls.
She lived her life as a woman of integrity. She was gentle and gracious in spirit. Her many attributes were evident to all. She was not a gossip, nor was she pretentious. She was never one to complain or judge others for their shortcomings. She endured much heartache and loss in her life, but she handled it admirably. She treated everyone fairly, with kindness and respect. There was no prejudice in her.
She learned well the lessons of life and her moral compass was true. All these qualities and many more she passed down to us all by her words and deeds. She was a rarity in this world, and we are all better for having known her.
Ima was preceded in death by her loving husband Lester Moreland; children Alice Peters, Gary Peters and Kristy Coleman; and grandchildren April Peters, Jason Peters, and Amanda Safford.
She is survived by daughters Diane Goains and Debbie Grisham; son-in-law Mark Coleman; grandchildren Herb Safford, Christopher Grisham and wife Rehanna, Jennifer Goins, Rusty Coleman, and Michelle Hatton and husband Duke; 13 great-grandchildren Cristen Grisham, Colby Johnson, Calvin Johnson, Savanah Goins, Major Goins, Jaxon Hatton, Colton Hatton, Casen Hatton, Wyatt Safford, Joshua Safford, Gabriel Safford, Michelle Guevara, and Fiona Guevara.