Ethel Rhetta Lyon Huggins, age 84, passed away on September 15, 2026, at Serenity Pearl Living Center in Carriere, Mississippi, surrounded by her loving family.

Rhetta was born on July 11, 1942, in Rome, Georgia, to William Spencer Lyon and Evie Virginia Pruitt Lyon. She was married for 54 years to the love of her life, John Lewis Huggins, who passed away just two months before her on July 15, 2026.

Rhetta and John made their home in Picayune, Mississippi, for more than 25 years, where they raised their family and made a lifetime of memories. After John retired, they moved to Daphne, Alabama, where they enjoyed their retirement years. Later, when they both needed more care, they moved back to Mississippi and made their home together at Serenity Pearl Living Center in Carriere.

If you knew John and Rhetta, you knew how much they loved each other. Their 54 years together weren’t without the ups and downs that come with any lifetime together, but through it all, they were devoted to one another. When they moved to Serenity Pearl, the staff quickly saw that special bond and lovingly began calling them “the Notebook couple.” It fit them. Through aging, illness, and all the changes that came with those final years, they were still John and Rhetta, and they still wanted to be together.

Rhetta loved her family, and she shared a very special bond with her sisters. Traveling with Rachel (Bobby), Shirley (Tommy), and Linda gave her some of the best memories of her life. There were trips, adventures, plenty of laughter, and stories that would be told over and over again. It wasn’t always about where they were going. She just loved being with her sisters.

She especially loved Thanksgiving at her sister Shirley’s house. The house would be full of family, food, talking, and laughter. Some of the best times were simply sitting around the kitchen table with her sister, daughter, and nieces, talking and telling stories. Thanksgiving also brought family together from near and far and gave her time with her brothers David, John, and Billy. Those days surrounded by her family meant so much to her.

Some of our best memories growing up were the family trips we took together, and thankfully, those didn’t stop just because we grew up. In later years, Leta and Randy might come for a weekend visit, and before we knew it, Mom, Dad, Leta, Randy, and Lewis were all piling in the car and taking off somewhere for the day. We might go shopping, hunt through estate sales, go to a festival in Fairhope, or just ride down the beach in Gulf Shores. Half the time, we didn’t need a plan. We just went. Looking back, those spontaneous days together became some of our favorite memories.

Rhetta and John also loved traveling together. Israel held a very special place in their hearts. Their love of genealogy also took them to England and Scotland, where they were able to explore the places their families came from. They loved learning about their family history and seeing those places for themselves.

But as much as Rhetta loved her family, traveling, flowers, and all the other things that brought her joy, her first love was her Savior, Jesus Christ. Her faith wasn’t something she kept to herself. If you knew Rhetta, you knew what she believed. She was bold about sharing the Gospel and wanted others to know the same Jesus she knew and loved. She and John shared that faith throughout their marriage and were active in their church and the friendships they made there. There is great comfort for her family today in knowing that the faith she spent her life talking about has now become sight.

And then there were her flowers. Rhetta absolutely loved gardening. She loved watching things grow and could appreciate just about anything that bloomed, but roses were always her favorite. Give her flowers, a garden, and some dirt to work in, and she was happy.

Those left to cherish her memory and carry on her legacy are her daughter, Evie Leta Huggins Necaise (Randy); her son, William Lewis Huggins; her sister, Rachel Lyon Harrison (Bobby); her brother, John Lyon (Cindy); and numerous nieces and nephews.

In addition to her husband, John, Rhetta was preceded in death by her parents, William Spencer Lyon and Evie Virginia Pruitt Lyon; and her siblings, David Spencer Lyon, Shirley Ann Land, Linda Faith Lyon, and William Lafayette Lyon.

Our family will always be grateful for the wonderful people at Serenity Pearl Living Center who cared for Mom and Dad during the last year of their lives. They didn’t just take care of them. They got to know them, learned their personalities, laughed with them, loved them, and treated them like family. They saw the love between Mom and Dad and understood why they needed to be together. Knowing they were surrounded by people who truly cared about them gave our family more peace than those caregivers will probably ever know. Serenity Pearl became more than the place where Mom and Dad lived. It became part of their story, and we will never forget the people there who loved and cared for them.

Dad passed away on July 15, 2026. Mom followed him exactly two months later, on September 15, 2026.

After 54 years of marriage, raising a family, traveling the world, laughing, fussing, making memories, growing older, and finally facing the hardest parts of life together, they weren’t apart for very long.

The “Notebook couple” is together again.

Services for Ms. Rhetta will be held on Saturday, September 19, 2026, beginning at 9:00 am for a Visitation and Funeral Service at 10:30 am. Services will be held at The Pole Barn, located at 7168 Wyndell Ladner Road.  Rhetta will be laid to rest next to her husband at Cathoula Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery directly following services at The Pole Barn.  Trinity Funeral Services is honored to serve the Huggins family during this time, and we ask that you remember them all in your thoughts and prayers over the coming days ahead.