Barbara (Babs) Ann Pride Whitfield

Barbara (Babs) Ann Pride Whitfield died peacefully at her home on August 13, 2025, with her family by her side. The funeral mass will be held at St. Richard’s Catholic Church in Jackson, Mississippi, on August 30, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. with a reception to follow. Visitation will be held immediately before the mass beginning at 10:00 a.m.

The daughter of Thomas Edward (Ed) and Kathryn Elizabeth Tabb, Babs was born on February 7, 1945, in Waco, Texas. Her early life was spent in Greenville, Mississippi, where she graduated from Greenville High School. Babs graduated with honors from Delta State University after attending most of her college years at Mississippi State College for Women (MSCW). After marrying Charles Low, she moved to Texas where she worked for a local newspaper in Dallas. Once back in Greenville, Charles and Babs had two girls, Susan and Katy. She began her teaching career at St. Joseph’s High School where she was adored. Charles and Babs divorced in 1980 but remained friends throughout her life.

Babs eventually got remarried to Paul Pride, and they gave birth to her only son, Paul Edward Pride. Northeast Jackson is where Babs spent many years and made many faithful, lifelong friends. During her years in Jackson, she started teaching at St. Richard’s, which is where her heart always remained. Teaching Junior High at St. Richard’s, she said, was one of the happiest times of her life. After Babs was widowed in 1995, she and Davis Andrew Whitfield, III, reconnected from high school and married in 1999.

To know Babs was to know her laugh, and Davis made her laugh almost constantly. He took great care of Babs during the thirty years they were together, especially during the final years. Babs ended her teaching career in Pelahatchie. After Babs retired, she volunteered at a women’s prison in Rankin County, reading the Bible and getting to know the women. She said that being with those women was the closest she ever felt to God. The greatest pleasure Babs had in life was knowing and celebrating her grandchildren.

Babs was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Thomas (Tommy) Edward Tabb; her stepfather, Bill Humphries; and one of the most important people in her life, her grandmother, Rena Mae (Mama Joyner) Johnson. In addition to her husband, survivors include her three children: Susan Alford, Katy Mangin (Andy), and Paul Edward Pride. Her stepchildren are Davis A. Whitfield IV (Meredith) and John Thomas Whitfield. Babs’s beloved grandchildren are as follows: Collin Alford, Anna May, Charlie Mangin, Norah Mangin, Henry Mangin, Lucas Dudley, Emery Pride, Paxton Pride, Madelyn Whitfield, Ryder Whitfield, and Magnolia Whitfield. Her only sister is Beth Humphries Milam. Elizabeth Hatcher and Anna Outzen are her nieces, and Thomas Outzen is her nephew.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Catholic Charities of Jackson (catholiccharitiesjackson.org).