ODESSA KELLUM PEPPER

Odessa Kellum Pepper, 78, passed into the hands of God on the afternoon of January 11, 2025 after a fourteen month bout with cancer. She was surrounded by her loving family during the week leading up to her death, and peacefully went to sleep about 8:00 pm.
A memorial service will be held at 1:00 pm on Saturday, January 18, 2025, at Mortimer-Southern Funeral Home, 100 Pine Street, Lexington, Mississippi. The service will be conducted by one of Dessa’s favorite cousins, Reverend Bill McGinnis. Visitation will be at the funeral home on Saturday, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, with the service to follow. A family burial will be at Odd Fellows Cemetery at a later date.
Dessa was born on July 30, 1946, in Lexington, Mississippi, to J.E. and Alice Kellum. She graduated from Lexington High School; Hinds Junior College, in Raymond, Mississippi: and Walters State, in Morristown, Tennessee. Her career included various positions in the medical field: surgical scheduler, hospital administrative assistant, and nurse.
In 1970, she married Danny Pepper, also from Lexington, MS, and she had two children: Mike King and Dawn Pepper Boutwell.
Dessa was a kind, loving, nurturing lady. She cared deeply for her family and was a friend to everyone she met. She was always determined that no one would be hungry when they left her house.
Dessa was preceded in death by her parents, J.E. and Alice Rathell Kellum; and by her step-mother Bessie Ruth Allen Kellum, who raised Dessa like her own, after Alice’s death in 1956.
Dessa is survived by her husband, Danny; her son, Mike King (Janeth) of Lexington, her daughter Dawn Boutwell (Marc) of Oxford, Mississippi; five grandchildren: Laken Pierce (Nathan), Kyle King, Blaine Robertson, Pepper Boutwell, and Allie Boutwell; and four great grandchildren: Braycen King, Dean Robertson, Harlee Pierce, and Levi Pierce. She is also survived by her sisters Rose Spell (Lamar) and Carolyn Pepper; her brother, Johnny Allen (Mary Jane); her sister in law, Arlene Easterling (Robert); her brother in law, Bill Pepper, and many beloved nieces and nephews.
Dessa and Danny lived in Lexington at the time of their marriage, but moved to several military posts over the next few years. They then lived in Jackson, Mississippi; Maryville, Tennessee; Morristown, Tennessee; Clinton, Mississippi; and back to Lexington upon her retirement.
The family wants to thank her oncology specialists at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the caring staff of Gentiva Hospice.
Mortimer-Southern Funeral Home will be in charge of arrangements.