On Saturday, June 18, 2022, Malisa Flowers, a loving mom and grandmother, passed away at the age of 94.
Malisa was born on March 3, 1928 in Arcola, Mississippi to Charlie and Deliah Osbey. She was the youngest of the ten Osbey siblings. She started her education in the Arcola public school system in the 1930s before meeting her husband, Manny Flowers. Manny and Malisa married in December of 1944 in Mississippi. From this union, 6 children were born – Manny Jr., Elmo, Charles, Pearlie, Betty and Ricky. In the mid-1950’s, Malisa and Manny decided to relocate their family to Chicago in order to provide better opportunities for themselves and their children.
The next 67 years of Malisa’s life and legacy were deeply rooted on Chicago’s west side. After settling into the city, Malisa and Manny went on to become the first black family to enter their neighborhood where she worked as a housekeeper and a general worker at Zenith Electronics for many years. Above all else, Malisa had a deep love for God her entire life and symbolized her dedication as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2015 by water baptism at the age of 87. She thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her spiritual family at the Kingdom Hall.
Malisa enjoyed the simple things in life – spending time with her children and grandchildren at every available opportunity, annual vacations to the East coast with her granddaughters, telling stories of her youth, sharing old family recipes and drinking her morning coffee. She was an avid music lover and loved a good showcase of song and dance. In fact, she would make it a point to sing songs to her great grandkids when they were having a tough day just to see them smile. Malisa was known for her quick wit, her charming smile, and kind and compassionate spirit. She was Grandma Lis to most, even to those with no blood relation, because her heart was full, and her door was always open. She became a staple in the community – the lady who was always on the porch with a cup of coffee, a warm smile who somehow knew every single new neighbor, the friends of all her children and grandchildren, the schoolkids passing by and even the local garbage men. She had the unique ability to make every single person she encountered feel like the only thing that mattered in that moment. This is how the ‘Grandma Lis’ came to be.
Malisa was preceded in death by her parents, husband, siblings and 4 grandchildren. Malisa will be affectionately remembered as Mama, Grandma, Grandma Lis, Mama Flowers, Lis, Sister Mama and Sister Flowers. She is survived by her daughters, Pearlie (Luther) and Betty (Michael); very close family friend, Peggy Johnson, 22 grandchildren, 58great grandchildren and 21 great great grandchildren.
Malisa will truly be missed but the memories will last a lifetime and the stories will be passed down for generations to come.
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