Three Alabama sisters live into their 90s thanking God for their blessings

The three sisters grew up in Alabama at a time when life seemed less complicated.

“One thing, it wasn’t so much killing and things going on back then,” said Thelma Phillips, the youngest living sibling, sitting on her front porch in Phenix City. “Everybody was lovely. You didn’t see no shooting and killing one another like it is going on now, but it’s a different generation.”

Now at 90, Phillips and her two sisters — Lillian Williams, 97, and Maybell Owens, 95 — are all fast approaching a century. They spoke to the Ledger-Enquirer expressing gratitude for all their many blessings — longevity being one of the greatest gifts.

The three women lived through the Great Depression, World War II, racial segregation and 9/11. One of their greatest joys was voting for the country’s first black president, Barack Obama.

When asked if they ever imagined such a possibility, Phillips said: “Never in 100 years.”

The sisters said they also never thought they would live this long, and they credited their endurance to family and faith.

They grew up on a farm in Cottonton, Ala., where their parents, Tommie and Clifford Owens, raised four girls and two boys.

As children, they picked cotton. They didn’t always like the hard work, but they later came to appreciate it.

“To me it was beautiful,” Phillips said. “We had a lovely mother and father. ...They taught us how to love.”

Yet, others weren’t always kind as they grew up as black children in the segregated South. Owens remembers the Ku Klux Klan coming to their home looking for an uncle who had to flee town the next day to avoid a lynching. Phillips and Williams said the memory is still too painful for them to share.

Yet, through it all, the women never lost hope or their faith in God.

“Regardless of what happens, y’all love one another,” Owens remembers her father telling them. “When one hurts, we all hurt.”

That bit of advice has kept the sisters close for more than nine decades, and they still speak to each other daily. They’ve also shed many tears along the way.

They lost their two parents and three other siblings as the years rolled on. Both Phillips and Williams outlived their husbands. Between the three of them, they’ve already buried three children and one grandchild.

In all, Williams gave birth to 11 children (two deceased). She has 26 grandchildren, 37 great-grandchildren and four great great-grandchildren.

Owens produced six offspring (one deceased), 14 grandchildren and 16 great-grands.

Phillips boasts eight children, 18 grandchildren (one deceased), 45 great-grands and 17 great great-grands.

Owens’ granddaughter, 36-year-old Chandra Wright, is director of workplace giving at the United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley. She said her grandmother, whom she lovingly calls “Big Ma,” continues to be an inspiration.

“For her to be 95, in pretty decent health, and able to share with me what it was like as a young African-American woman in her time, I always tell her, ‘We read about these things in the history books. But to actually have someone I can call to talk to about this stuff? It means a lot,’” she said. “She’s had her ups, she’s had her downs, she’s had her struggles, but like she’s always said, ‘Nothing can beat me down. I’m here.’”

Wright said the family feels blessed to still have all three women in their lives. They’ve had health challenges but can still do for themselves.

“I can’t think of many families that have three living sisters in their 90s,” she said. “When we see them together, it just fills our heart with love.”

This story was originally published December 2, 2017 at 9:30 PM with the headline "Three Alabama sisters live into their 90s thanking God for their blessings."