Alice Grace Dryden's Obituary
Born September 29, 1937, in Longview, Texas, Alice Grace McWhorter grew up going to Pine Tree schools. Her parents, Lin and Mary Jane McWhorter, raised her and her three older sisters to sing and play the piano and accordion, and the girls with their dad sang in church and outside the Gregg County Jail as an outreach. In high school, Alice specialized in office and secretarial courses under Mr. Trimble who recommended her to a local business for her excellent shorthand and typing skills, so she went to work for Dunaway Supply. She met and married Charles Dryden in 1959 and produced Amesia, Dawn, and Charles Franklin Dryden, Jr.—Chuck. Alice kept their home and nurtured their children while Charles worked for Eastman and then in the animal nutrition and production business. Once the children were all in school, Alice returned to work for Sun Pipeline, The City of Longview, Gregg County Appraisal District, and even an additional night job at JCPenney for a time. Her work ethic and kindness won her many wonderful friends through the years. Her devotion to God, church, her husband, and her family taught her children the value of a Christian life and the benefit of having a prayer warrior and intercessor mother. Her friends, husband, three children, their spouses, seven grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren have all been enriched by her example, pampered by her devotion, and—yes—admonished by her guidance and help (also known as advice and discipline). She has made everyone who ever knew her better for having known her. On her journey, she has always dressed with flair and an accessory scarf. Every advancement she made or milestone she reached in this life was a step to another cloud toward her ultimate destination: going to see Jesus. It is fitting, then, that she long ago chose the song “Stepping on the Clouds” to be played at her funeral. She made the last step from mortality to immortality on February 10, 2025, to reap the rewards of her life well lived. Family and friends will visit on Thursday, February 13, 2025, at 10:00 AM, and her Pastor, Charles Chargois of Calvary Tabernacle, will officiate the celebration of her life at 11:00 AM both in the Rosewood Park Mausoleum in Longview, Texas.
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