Celia Darlene Price

Celia Darlene Napier-Price (Aunt Jean always called her “Dard” 😊) was born in Mingo County, West Virginia on February 4, 1947 and died in Matthews, North Carolina on December 17, 2022. Darlene graduated high school in 1965 from John Marshall High School in Cleveland, Ohio. She was married in 1967. That marriage lasted 11 years and gave her 2 children: Tabatha (or Tabby) and Matthew (or Matt). In 1994, Darlene married Joe Pat Price. They were married for 20 years and together for a total of 35 years. Darlene and Joe remained married until Joe’s death in 2014. Besides taking care of her younger brother and sisters and cooking and cleaning for Grandma Napier, one of Darlene's first jobs was as a cafeteria aide at her high school. After graduating high school, she worked as a cashier at an automotive plant in Cleveland. During her first marriage, Darlene stayed at home, caring for her house and children and running a home with very little, taking odd jobs here and there like wrapping Christmas presents at department stores during the holiday season (Darlene was the wrap-master! She had a real talent for beautifully wrapping a gift). After her first marriage ended, Darlene spent most of her working life in retail. She worked at T.J. Maxx in the Hoover Square-Six Shopping Center for many years. She also successfully managed 2 different stores at the Galleria Mall. After working at the Galleria for about 10 years, Darlene started her own house-cleaning business. She was known as a hard worker and a helpful employee with all of her customers, co-workers, employers, and subordinates. By the time she was 60, Darlene retired from full-time work. The most important things in Darlene's life were her husband, children, family, and friends. She loved to sing with her family, especially her siblings and her daughter. Her favorite place to be was “Any Beach U.S.A.,” but mostly Panama City Beach. Darlene loved country line-dancing, race-walking, and step aerobics. Almost any time her children called to speak with her, her husband Joe would almost always say, “She’s out jumpin’,” which meant she was in aerobics class 😊. Also, as funny as it sounds, Darlene really enjoyed cleaning her house. Darlene wasn’t someone who earned accolades, awards, degrees, or the praise of people. Instead, she was a hard-working woman who raised and took care of 2 children alone, as a single mother. Not long after her divorce, Darlene found feeding her children difficult. Her children remember standing with her in a long line that went on for several blocks, waiting to sign up for food stamps. Darlene was so humiliated and ashamed at the thought of taking money from the government that she said out loud to herself, “If I have to take a second job to put food on the table, that’s what I’m going to do.” And that’s what Darlene did: her full-time job was at TJ Maxx. Her part-time night job was at Kmart. Through her example, she taught her children how to work hard, to persevere, to never give up, and to always keep a promise. Darlene was a trustworthy, hardworking, and honest woman. Darlene is preceded in death by her husband, Joe Pat Price, her mother, Martha Jarrell-Napier, her father, James Napier, her brothers Thomas and Eddie, Her sisters Fern, Patty, and Mabel, and her nephews Tommy, Billy, and Jimmy. Darlene is survived by her children, Tabatha and her husband Jack, her son Matthew and his fiancé Cent, her grandchildren, Stephen and his fiancé Yana, Peyton, Abbie and her husband Liam, and Noah. She is also survived by her brother Johnny and her sisters Carol and Jean, her good friends Sue and Pam, and many other nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and loved ones. Darlene had a child-like faith in Jesus. She trusted Jesus with her eternal destiny like a small child trusts his mother to make him lunch. A little child doesn’t worry about where his next meal is coming from; he just assumes his parents are going to feed him. In the same way, Darlene wasn’t worried about where she was going when she died. She just assumed that because she trusted Jesus, Jesus would take care of her. And she was right.

Celia Darlene Price

February 4, 1947 - December 17, 2022