Mable "Madea" (Ward) Dedeaux, age 85, a loving and devoted mother and caregiver passed away on Sunday, September 11, 2022 in her residence with her family by her side.

Mable was born on March 9, 1937 in Pass Christian, Mississippi to Catherine "Big Mama" Barbine and Andrew Ward, the fifth child of eighteen born to Big Mama.

Mable had three children of her own, but a few years later married Randolph Dedeaux, who she had met while both were attending Randolph High School.  Fate and serendipity had brought Mable and Randolph back together to form a loving blended family.

In 1960, seeking new opportunities for themselves and their family Mable and Randolph moved to California.  Mable and Randolph would go on to marry May 24, 1975.

Mable trained with Mack Trucking Company to become a diesel mechanic.  She went on to work for Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), where she would work until retiring and returning to Mississippi, her love of animals led her to opening Rockin' D Ranch petting zoo, as well as a Harrison County School District bus driver.

Mable was preceded in death by her husband, Randolph Dedeaux; her parents, Catherine Barbine and Andrew Ward; her oldest son, Jerome John Ward; great-grandson, Adonye L. Ward; brothers, Andrew J. Ward, Arthur Conway, Sr.; sisters, Corine Bradley, Louise Swearington, Bobby Jean Conway, Henrietta Valentine, Marcella Steele, Cynthia Rutledge and close friends and traveling buddies, Robert and Marvie Lang.

Mable leaves to cherish her life and memory, her four daughters, Toni Williams, DeLisle, MS, Mary Cecile Johnson, Gulfport, MS,  Richelle (Leroy) Thompson, Saucier, MS, Marietta Dedeaux, Saucier, MS; her two sons, Randolph Dedeaux, Jr., Reuben Dedeaux, both of De Lisle, MS; her brother,  Felton Bernard; sisters, Celestine Ward, Betty Ward, Lydia Ward, Carol Johnson, Mary (Arthur) Hall, Brenda (Rufus) Johnson, Regina Broach, Clara Mecum; best friend, Dorothy Mayers; Goddaughter, Trina Mayers; adopted family, Leo and Monica Wiltz, Tina, Myra, Bianca; twenty-eight grandchildren; thirty-eight great-grandchildren; one great-great grandchild, a host of nieces, nephews and many other dear and beloved friends.