Mattie B. Staples

Born: March 27, 1948, in Tchula, Mississippi

Died: January 24, 2026, in Portland, Oregon

Parents: Grant Brown and Earlin March Brown Davis

Survivors:

Siblings: Willie Issac; Emma Lou Brown; Lester Brown; Rosiemae Pilcher; Bobby Brown, Idell Pitts; Donnie Brown.

Daughters: Debbie Darlene Staples; Janice Marie Staples

Brother: Samuel Staples, deceased

Grandchildren: Caribbean, Mario

Her Great Grandchild and a host of nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews and many other loved ones

Mattie B. Staples was born in Tchula, Mississippi to Grand Brown and Earline March Brown.

She married Samuel Staples in January 1964 at the age of 16. On October 4, 1964, they had their first child, Debbie Staples, and on November 26, 1965, they had a second child together, Janice Staples. They went on to have a third child who died not long after birth.

Mattie didn’t have much schooling, and she worked alongside her parents and older siblings to help support the large family that they had. She lived in Tchula, Mississippi and most of her immediate family moved to Greenwood, MS. She later moved to Greenwood as well. In July 1974 she moved to Portland, Oregon. Mattie was a strong, black woman. She was very fond of her elders. She had a style of her own when it came to getting dressed up. She could really put an outfit together from head to toe. Mattie mostly kept to herself. She loved all her neighbors, and they all loved her once they got to know her. She loved going fishing and spending time with her family. She also loved her good music. She could ‘out dance’ anybody on the dance floor with her. On of her favorite song artists was Tyrone Davis. Her favorite songs were “Give it Up” and ‘This I swear”. Her favorite movies were King Fu westerns and King Kong. Mattie loved life. She would help who needed help that she would come across. She could also hold a grudge for a long, long, long time…and be cool at the same time. Not too many people didn’t like Mattie. When she talked, she could come back all day and talk about memories and the good old days. We could go on and on...