Charlene Adele "Bunny" Oursler entered into eternal life on September 30th,
2015.

There is an old euphemism used to describe some people that says the Lord "broke the mold" after creating them. This truly applied to Bunny. She combined a loving and giving spirit, with artistic talent, both musical and literary, and an indomitable will to succeed in a fair and just way. Bunny was a single mom and a businesswoman when most women were content being housewives.

Her life''s journey began on October 20th, 1925 at her mother, Adele''s, home at 908 South Willett in Memphis, Tennessee. As a child during the Great Depression she developed a deep devotion to her mother and family and a practical understanding of the joys and harsh realities of life. She carried these two lessons with her throughout the rest of her life''s journey.

As a youth she was an excellent student and honed her skills on guitar, her favorite instrument. Later in life she taught guitar to many friends in the comfort of her living room. She loved horses and was an accomplished equestrian. Fishing was another hobby she enjoyed. But at this time her first love was dancing. She absolutely loved to dance.

She began her business career as a teller at First Tennessee Bank. Later, she got a job as an operator for "the telephone company." It was at this time that she bought her first home at 755 South Willett. It was important to Bunny to be near her mother and the home was just down the street from Adele.

In 1954, she met and fell in love with Morris E. Oursler. (No, this isn''t a typo. Morris'' side of the family had gone North to Indiana while Bunny''s side had gone South when the Oursler family entered the United States at Baltimore, Maryland in the early eighteenth century). They married the same year. Morris was an executive for American Bakeries. Their union produced one child, Morris Emory Oursler, Jr.

Sadly, their marriage ended in divorce and Bunny took her infant son south to New Orleans to begin a new business venture. She partnered with her older sister, Mivela and her husband Tom in the tugboat business. Bunny bought a tugboat and christened it The Big M after her son. With Tom as the captain, the stout little ship plied the muddy waters of the Mississippi hauling various cargo. The business did well until a hurricane hit the gulf coast and did terrible damage to the area including most of the shipping. Thanks to Bunny''s foresight, when she heard of the hurricane''s approach, she decided to shelter The Big M at Bayou La Batre, Alabama.

With a fresh paint job, the undamaged little tugboat returned to the devastation in New Orleans and Bunny seized another opportunity. Already homesick for Memphis, and realizing the inherent dangers of business in the Gulf, she had no trouble at all in selling the tugboat. She returned to Memphis and searched for another business she could get involved in.

She decided on healthcare. She purchased an older house at 1279 Peabody in Memphis and razed it to the ground. Then she designed and built Oursler Nursing Home on the propertya 24-bed facility to care for the aged. Ably assisted by her lifelong friend Ann Richardson, the business thrived. In an effort to learn more about the medical side of the business she entered Methodist Hospital''s nursing program. Thirteen months later she took her State Board exam and placed fourth in the entire state of Tennessee.

The years passed and in 1970 she met Martha Adams. Martha became her most dear and beloved friend and constant companion for the rest of Bunny''s life.

Although successful, after a while Bunny felt that government regulations were stifling the smaller nursing homes with constant red tape and useless rules. She sold the nursing home in 1971. Then she bought a large home at 1876 Poplar Avenue and turned it into an assisted living care home. She named the facility Holiday Manor. When her mother, Adele, became too old to live alone she moved her into Holiday Manor and was able to personally look after her. Adele passed away on February 5th, 1978. Later that year Bunny sold Holiday Manor and retired. Also during that same year, Emory and his wife, Teresa, presented Bunny with her first granddaughter, Jenny. Her second grandchild Natalie followed three years later.

During her retirement she worked on her first novel, "Sins of the Father" which was published in 1986. This novel was a thinly-veiled biography of the lives of some of the more scandalous members of the family set in nineteenth century Memphis. The book enjoyed more critical than financial success, but Bunny loved the story and it was her lifelong dream to see it in print.

Also during this time she bought various motor homes and revisited the joys of camping that her busy life in business had curtailed. Bunny and Martha took many trips to visit friends and relatives and just enjoy the sheer beauty of nature. She also got to concentrate a little more on the indoors too. Once gambling became legal she absolutely loved going to the casinos and playing the slot machines.

The retirement also allowed more time with her family. After Emory retired from the United States Air Force in 1994 and moved to Bartlett, she was able to reacquaint herself with her granddaughters, Jenny and Natalie. In 2005 Natalie presented her with her first great-grandchild, Kylie, and in 2011 added Nicholas to the family.

Bunny finished her second novel, "The Other Centurion" in 2013. It was an allegorical tale of redemption set in the time of our Lord Jesus Christ. She was constantly revising the text up until the time of her death and shopping for the right publisher for the work.

If Bunny was here she would tell you herself that none of her accomplishments could have been achieved without the grace and blessing of God. She was a lifelong Catholic and parishioner at Immaculate Conception, The Church of the Nativity, and St Ann.

Bunny will best be remembered as a kind lady, with grace and dignity who had big, expressive brown eyes and a beautiful smile.

That memory will be carried on by her dearest and devoted friend of 45 years, Martha Adams, her beloved son, Emory Oursler, her granddaughter Jenny Oursler, her granddaughter Natalie Oursler Wagner, Natalie''s husband, Mitchell Wagner, and her two great-grandchildren, Kylie Wagner and Nicholas Wagner.

Bunny''s Visitation will be held 5-7 PM Monday October 5th at Forest Hills Cemetery on Whitten Road in Bartlett. The funeral will be held the following day, Tuesday October 6th at 10 AM at Forest Hills.

In Bunny''s memory donations may be made to the Monastery of St. Clare at 1310 Dellwood Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee 38127, or by a random, unexpected, and unsolicited act of kindness to someone in need.

The family would like to express a special thank you to Tamika Mills and the staff of St. Francis Hospital in Bartlett for providing excellent care to our sweet Bunny in her final days.

"Be completely humble and gentleÍ be patient, bearing with one another in love." Ephesians 4:2

Forest Hill Funeral Home & Memorial Park, East
(901) 382-1000