Melba Jean Flippen, 87, of Orange, Texas, passed away on April 5, 2018, peacefully in her home, surrounded by her family.

Funeral services will be 2:00 p.m., Sunday, April 8, 2018, at Claybar Funeral Home in Orange. Officiating will be Reverend Lynn Ashcraft. Burial will follow at Evergreen Cemetery.

Visitation will be prior to the service starting at 12:30 p.m., at Claybar Funeral Home in Orange.

Born in Orange, Texas, on August 1, 1930, she was the daughter of Dan Clayton and Gussie (Rosenbaum) Clayton. Melba was longtime member of First United Methodist Church. She was excellent at decorating, making ceramics and cooking. Melba had a smile that could light up an entire room and loved to laugh. She was a very elegant woman, a loving woman, and a doting mother. She will be dearly missed by all those who came to know her.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Dan and Gussie Clayton; and son, James Keith Sonnier.

She is survived by her loving husband of 44 years, Ernest “Flip” Flippen; children, Dani Sonnier, Rick Flippen, Karen Flippen Perry, Mark Flippen; grandchildren, Joshua Hyles, and Brittany Ortega; and great-grandchildren, Madison, Jefferson, and John Lincoln Hyles.

Serving as pallbearers will be Rick and Dena Flippen, Mark Flippen, Karen Flippen Perry, and Richard and Cicely Perry. Serving as honorary pallbearer will be Joshua Hyles.

The family would like to extend their gratitude to Best Hospice for their wonderful care of Melba, especially the R.N.’s, Ryan, Katie, Emily, and Dana; and caretakers, Patricia and Angela.