Leila M. Stallings

Leila Chesnutt Stallings, 92, of Moultrie, GA, passed away Sunday, January 7, 2024, at Colquitt Regional Medical Center, with family by her side.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Thursday, January 11, 2024, at Baker Funeral Home, with Brother Mike Hasty officiating. Interment will follow in Pleasant Grove Cemetery.
Born December 27, 1931, in Moultrie, GA, she was the daughter of the late Fred Ira Chesnutt and Ollie Mae Hall Chesnutt. When her mother died suddenly in 1946, Leila and her older sister, Annie, became mothers as well as sisters to their five younger siblings. Leila graduated from Moultrie High School in 1949 and married the love of her life, Lonnie Herbert “Jack” Stallings, in 1951. They were married 66 years before Herb died in 2018. Leila continued mothering throughout her life, as an anchor to her own four children and anyone who needed a warm hug and a plate of home-cooked goodness. She was a good old-fashioned cook who rarely followed a recipe, but boy, she could create the most mouth-watering dishes. She loved her extended family, and welcomed them throughout her life, hosting many a family reunion and summer vacation. And her family loved her and her open arms. When Herb and Leila bought their family farm east of town, she jumped right in to lend a hand wherever needed, from tending plants to helping build a passive solar house. When daughter, Rebecca, and her friend, Cheryl, opened the Leaf Maker shop in Leila and Herb’s former house on First Street, SE, in 1976, Leila was there to help customers choose a plant or decoration that was just right for the occasion. On a sunny day, you could find her outside enjoying her flowers and watching the birds, all the while her hands at work shelling butterbeans or cracking pecans. She had many talents; she liked to keep busy. And she was one of a kind. The best kind. She was a member of Old Ty Ty Primitive Baptist Church for over 60 years and loved her fellow members - her church family. Leila lived her faith every day and trusted God to lead her and nourish her, and passed her faith on to her children.
In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her brothers, Charlie Chesnutt and Fred Chesnutt, Jr.; sisters, Christine Chesnutt Keel and Marie Chesnutt Roux.
Survivors include her sons, Ben Stallings and Terrell Stallings, both of Moultrie; daughters, Rebecca Stalling and Lisa Stallings Bowling and husband, Gary, all of Moultrie; granddaughter, Rachel Stallings of Valdosta; former daughter-in-law, Robbie Stallings, of Moultrie; as well as a brother, Bill Chesnutt and wife Jackie of Monroe, NC; and sisters, Annie Chesnutt Maxwell of Sylvester, GA; Jan Chesnutt Gates, of Rogers, AR, and Betty Chesnutt Roerk and husband, Paul, of Plattsmouth, NE.; a close nephew, Jim Van Nada, of Moultrie, as well as a host of other nephews and nieces scattered across the country.
The family will receive friends from 10:00-11:00 am on Thursday, January 11, 2024, at Baker Funeral Home.
Baker Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements.