Velma Audrey Goff Lenoir, 96, passed away on Friday, January 6, 2017, at Anderson Regional Medical Center in Meridian, Miss. She was born to the late Reverend Augustus Waldo Goff and Hattie Dillon Goff near Magnolia, Miss., on January 5, 1921. She was a resident of Picayune, Miss. for over 60 years.

She graduated from Walthall County Training School in the Ginntown Community of Tylertown, Miss., before attending what is now Jackson State University. She was active in her community and a longtime member of Pilgrim Bound Missionary Baptist Church in Picayune, serving as Sunday School teacher, member of the Senior Mission Auxiliary and in several other capacities.

On January 13, 1946, Velma married the love of her life, John Wesley Lenoir, Sr. A beloved mother, counselor and devoted Christian, she taught elementary school in the Picayune Public Schools and subsequently in the Picayune Head Start Program.

Velma Audrey Goff Lenoir is survived by four sons, John Wesley Lenoir, Jr. (Jacqueline) of Temecula, Calif.; Ray Harold Lenoir (Cornelia) of Kansas City, Mo.; James Edward Lenoir (Marian) of Wake Forest, N.C.; and Don Lenoir (Donna) of New Orleans, La.; four daughters, Janice Loretta Henry of Meridian, Miss.; Hattie Eva Lenoir of Mechanicsburg, Pa.; Nancy Paulette St. Jacobs of Dallas, Texas; and Maria Montez Smith (Reggie) of Antioch, Tenn.; 13 grandchildren; 8 great-grandchildren; and several nieces, nephews and friends.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, January 15, 2017, at Pilgrim Bound Missionary Baptist Church in Picayune, under the direction of Reverend Henry S. Marshall. Rev. Tommy Hart will deliver the eulogy. Interment at Picayune Cemetery immediately following the service.