In Loving Memory of Dr. Lorie Christine Watkins Massey

Funeral services for Dr. Lorie Christine Watkins Massey will begin at 11:00 am on Thursday, September 10, 2026, at the Providence Primitive Baptist Church, 290 County Road 10, Stringer, MS 39481. The burial will follow in the Providence Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery. Colonial Chapel Funeral Home of Bay Springs, MS, is in charge of arrangements. Elder Mark Quarles will officiate.

Visitation will be on Thursday, September 10, 2026, from 9:00 am until 11:00 am at the church.

Dr. Lorie Christine Watkins Massey, age 54, of Bay Springs, MS, passed away unexpectedly in the New Orleans University Medical Center on September 5, 2026.

Born on August 2, 1972, in Gainesville, Georgia. Lorie dedicated her life to serving others. As a beloved college professor/educator at William Carey University for the past eighteen years, she dedicated herself with a loving heart and emersed herself into the University with vigor. At William Carey University, Dr. Massey served as the Director of Graduate Studies in English (MA) as well as the director of the Mississippi Philological Association and served on the board of the Society for the Study of Southern Literature. During her tenure at William Carey University, Dr. Massey specialized in southern literature with an emphasis on the study of William Faulkner. Dr. Massey was an author and published contributor on various works in her field which will have a lasting impact on future scholars.

Lorie was a lifelong educator. Prior to her employment with William Carey University, she served for nine years as a professor of English and Undergraduate Studies at The University of Southern Mississippi where she earned her Ph.D. in English. She also spent three years early in her career teaching at Collins High School. Lorie spoke fondly and proudly of her past students. She invested her time and support in ensuring their success and was always their biggest fan.

Although Lorie was an outstanding educator, she was an even better wife, sister, aunt, friend, neighbor, and overall contributor to society. Lorie had a special gift for “silently serving”. If there was a need, she filled it without being asked and without wanting in return. Even though she was taken from this world way too soon, she did not go without a fight! Her graceful, quiet strength was a wonder to her loved ones. She left an everlasting immeasurable positive impact on the world, touching the lives of everyone who had the privilege of knowing her. To those who knew and loved her, she was more than words could ever express.

Lorie is preceded in death by her mother, Audrey Watkins.

Lorie is survived by her loving husband, Robert Massey, her father Windell Ray Watkins; her sister Julie Welborn (Anthony); her niece and nephew Katherine and Nicholas Welborn; stepdaughters Stacey Holifield (Norton) and Renee Pennell (Chester); step-grandchildren Hayden Myers, Hadley Holifield, Ethan Greene, Rachel Greene, Gavin Pennell; sister-in-law Jennifer Massey; and a host of beloved family and friends.