Mrs. Helen Minnie Manuel, after 82 seasons, joined her husband, the late Rev. Lyons Manuel in Heaven on Monday, July 19, 2010 from Wichita, Kansas.


Mrs. Manuel was born in Boley, Oklahoma on March 17, 1928, the daughter of Roy and Henrietta [Ryans] Shaw. She grew up and attended school in Boley. After graduation from high school, she moved to Wichita until she returned with her husband in 1968 to Pastor Greater Jones Chapel AME Zion Church.


Later, she co-founded with her husband, the Saint Mary's Christian Center, where she remained a faithful, dedicated member. She was a loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend, always willing to assist anyone in need. She loved spending time with her family and her church activities.


Those that wait on the Lord; her son, Reginald Hunt, Wichita, KS and step-son, Walter Manuel, Wichita, KS; her daughters, Carol Hunt, Verda Brady, Janett Hunt, all of Wichita, KS, and Beverly Manuel, Okmulgee, OK; her step-daughters, Claudette Manuel,and Norma Jean Manuel, both of Wichita and Tiny Manuel, Milwaukee, WI and last but not least a loving step-daughter Judy Manuel of Okmulgee; her brothers, Odell Shaw, Boley, OK, Royce Shaw, Dallas, TX and Orville Shaw, Los Angeles, CA; 12 grandchildren; a caravan of great-grandchildren; 8 great-great-grandchildren; and a host of other relatives and friends.


The Celebration of her Homegoing will commence on Friday, July 23, 2010 at 2:00 P.M. in the St. Mary's Christian Center. Pastor Thaddeus Thompson, Pastor, Presiding and Elder John W. Forbes, III, Pastor of Varick Chapel AME Zion Church of Tulsa, Eulogist. Burial will follow in the Sharp Cemetery, Southwest of Okmulgee.


You may visit Mother Manuel, as she slumbers in sweet repose at the Keith D. Biglow Funeral Directors, Inc., of Okmulgee on Thursday from 12 Noon to 6 PM.