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Essie Jones Guillory, 94, church member and clerical worker

The daughter of a sharecropper from the south, she was known for her good cooking and her fashion sense.

Essie Jones Guillory, 94, of West Philadelphia, a clerical worker and church member, died Monday, March 27, of breast cancer at the home of her daughter.

Until retiring in 1975, Mrs. Guillory was employed at various times by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, U.S. Census Bureau, the IRS, General Electric Co., and the City of Philadelphia. But her most rewarding work, she liked to say, was caring for her grandchildren and the young children of close family and friends whose parents worked.

Born to a sharecropper from Georgia who migrated to Philadelphia, she graduated from Girls High School. She lived through the Great Depression, two World Wars, and over a dozen presidencies. Even at her age, she could recite her Social Security number and other personal information, said daughter Renee Guillory-Wearing.

She met Clarence Guillory when he was stationed in Philadelphia at the end of World War II. He was playing a trombone in a canteen, she was singing. They were married in the mid-1940s and were together until several years before 1972, when he died.

Mrs. Guillory had a knack for making friends and keeping them for a lifetime, her daughter said. She worked hard to stay close to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, who called her "Go Go Granny." Her many nieces and nephews scattered across the country called her "Aunt Essie."

She was known for her good cooking – southern and Creole - and her sophisticated fashion sense.

"No matter the occasion, Essie was always sharp from head to toe and her makeup was flawless, due to the use of the best beauty products," her daughter said. "People were always amazed when Essie proudly revealed her age, because she looked so much younger. She got a kick out of seeing the shock on people's faces."

Mrs. Guillory was a member of West Philadelphia's Holy Temple Church of God in Christ. At age 13 in 1935, she proudly participated in a ceremonial march from its original home at 57th and Vine Streets to new quarters in a former Lutheran Church at 60th and Callowhill Streets. She had a beautiful singing voice and could harmonize as she sang any hymn, even in her final days.

Mrs. Guillory lived at Mahlon Lewis Residence at Haddington Elderly in West Philadelphia until she became ill in May 2016 and moved in with her daughter.

"Always one to speak her mind, Essie's sharp wit could easily catch you off guard, but she always left you with words of wisdom and encouragement," her daughter said.

In addition to her daughter, she is survived by children Clarence, Ronald and André; 13 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; two great-great grandchildren; and nieces and nephews. A granddaughter died in 2008.

Services for Mrs. Guillory were Tuesday, April 4, with interment in Westminster Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd.