Navy veteran Sandra Eades loved the water

LONG BEACH -- Joe Eades said he will miss many things about his mother, Sandra Eades, including her abilities in the kitchen.

"She was famous for her cornbread," he said. "People loved to eat her cornbread dressing during the holidays."

Sandra Catherine Eades of Long Beach died Sunday. She was 78.

She was a U.S. Navy veteran.

"She loved her country; she was a patriot," Joe Eades said. "She participated in all of the patriotic events on the Coast, and she would go to the National Cemetery in Biloxi on Veterans Day until she wasn't able to go anymore."

He said his mother worked in civil service for many years.

"It was kind of unusual at the time for women to join the Navy," he said. "But she loved it."

Sandra Eades and her late husband, Walter J. Eades, were founding members of the Long Beach Yacht Club.

Joe's Eades said his mother loved the water.

"She would have loved to sail if someone had taken her," he said with a laugh. "But she always enjoyed going to the beach and being by the water."

When asked to describe his late mother, Joe Eades said, "She was the quintessential Southern woman. She grew up very poor, and she remembered where she came from. She was always every elegant but also very humble."

Sandra Eades is survived by Joe Eades and family of Gulfport and daughters Suzanne D'Haillecourt (Barry) of Amory and Kim Thomas of Starkville; a brother, Rex Buffington of Starkville and grandchildren Weylin Oliver, Hannah and Zachary Eades of Gulfport and Kayleigh Thomas of Starkville.

Visitation will be 11-12 p.m. Thursday at First United Methodist Church in Gulfport with services to follow.

This story was originally published December 30, 2015 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Navy veteran Sandra Eades loved the water ."