Manie Louise Lyles Culbertson, age 90, of Alexandria

Manie Louise Lyles Culbertson
CHENEYVILLE - Funeral services for Manie Louise Lyles Culbertson of Alexandria will be held on Saturday, January 13, 2018, at 10 a.m. at the Trinity Episcopal Church, 941 Bayou Road, Cheneyville, with Reverend Keith Uffman officiating. Reverend Uffman will be assisted by Father Don White. Interment will be at 2 p.m. at Forest Park Cemetery, 3700 St. Vincent Avenue, in Shreveport. Arrangements are under the direction of Kilpatrick’s Rose-Neath Funeral Home of Marksville.
Manie was born around midnight on December 25, 1927, and entered eternal rest on Monday, January 8, 2018, at the age of 90. The daughter of Samuel and Myrtle Lyles, Manie grew up in a farming family on Compromise Plantation near Cheneyville, where her father operated a cotton gin. A long-time member of 4-H, as a high school student, Manie’s prize pig, Salami, won the grand prize at the Chicago Livestock Show, an accomplishment in which she was very proud. A superb dancer, she was able to out jitterbug anyone and she also pitched for the Lecompte High School softball team. Manie studied home economics at LSU in Baton Rouge where she sewed costumes for student plays and musicals and met her beloved husband, James Forrest Culbertson of Shreveport, a Navy pilot who enrolled at LSU after World War II. The couple was married for 40 years, before Jim’s death in 1989. She was extremely close to her husband’s family in Shreveport and often held grand rousing Christmas parties and other gatherings with sing-a-longs with the entire family.
She completed her master’s degree from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches. Teaching was her love and passion. A committed educator and writer, Manie taught eighth grade language arts and social studies in the Caddo Parish School system for 29 years before health issues forced her retirement. In 1972, she authored “May I Speak: Diary of a Crossover Teacher,” which chronicled her experiences during the integration of the public-school system in Louisiana. The following year she was named a Teacher of Distinction by the Louisiana Parent Teachers Association. In 1986, she co-authored with her sister, Sue Eakin, “Louisiana: The Land and Its People,” the social studies textbook utilized by Louisiana school children everywhere. A diminutive lady, she even found time early in her career to coach girls basketball. She influenced the lives of countless Louisiana children and inspired many to enter the teaching profession and continue her legacy. Although stricken with lupus early in life, she soldiered on with fierce determination, finding time to help and counsel others with the disease through her commitment to the Lupus Society of Louisiana.
Equal to her love of teaching was her love of flowers. A green thumb she was constantly working and testing new discoveries in her garden. A perfectionist, Manie was a disciplined, determined, exuberant, passionate, courageous, and loving lady. Her memory will endure in the many lives she touched.
Manie was preceded in death by her husband, James Forrest Culbertson, and parents, Samuel and Myrtle Lyles; siblings, Sue Eakin, Wanda McGowan, William Lyles, Sr., Joanne White, and Samuel P. Lyles, Jr.
She is survived by her son, Kurt (Gene Anne Klass) Culbertson of Snowmass Village, Colorado; two granddaughters, Erin Lyles Culbertson (Ken) Wieber of Larchmont, New York and Sarah Savannah Culbertson (Gabe) Warren of Tallahassee, Florida; three wonderful great-grandchildren, Caelin Anne Wieber, James Kurt Wieber, and Tinsley Anne Warren; siblings, Grace Uffman, Nancy Durham, and Catherine (Gerry) Coleman; and her cousin, George H. Lyles of Cheneyville.
Pallbearers honored to serve are Randy McCain, Craig Pratt, Charles White, Bobby Lyles, Kerry Uffman and Harold “Mac” McGowan,
Donations may be made in her memory to: Trinity Episcopal Church of Cheneyville, 941 Bayou Road, Cheneyville, Louisiana 71325.