A self-sufficient woman who helped expand the Naman mercantile business, Mimi Naman, is remembered for her strong Catholic faith, her devotion to her nieces and nephews, and her passion for all things Mobile.
"She was so loving and generous," recalled her sister, Eloise Naman Fadalla, who worked with Naman at her store, Children's World and Village Bootery. "The customers just loved her."
The third of 11 children born to George Elias Naman and Helen Zoghby Naman in Brewton, Naman died on Sept. 1. She was never one to discuss or disclose her age, her family said.
Naman attended T. R. Miller High School and moved with her family in the 1930s to Mobile, where she — like her siblings — joined the family businesses, pitching in at Naman's Food Store and Naman's Department Store. The family with Lebanese origins became widely recognized in Mobile.
Fadalla said that she and her brothers and sisters helped to wait on customers and wrap up their selections, learning enough about the business to go out on their own when they were grown.
Naman, who never married, chose to start a store focusing on shoes and children's clothes. It was initially located off University Boulevard near Ossie's, a popular restaurant at the time. Today, it's at Springhill Avenue and Interstate 65.
Children's World
Naman was especially skilled at building relationships with her customers — generations of them — and helping them to find what they needed, her nieces said.
Children's World, which still specializes in dress clothes and uniforms, offered sizes that were difficult to find. When necessary, Naman tackled the alterations herself.
The Village Bootery, meanwhile, was one of the first in the Mobile market to sell Thom McAn shoes.
"She loved so much what she was doing and believed in what she was doing," said niece Aggie Gibson of Florala. "She believed that one customer was as important as the next."
Naman would welcome customers and embrace them, and the children always flocked to her, said niece Georgette Spencer of Mobile.
Spencer fought back tears as she described Naman's generosity. "She didn't let them leave without clothes for their children," Spencer said, adding that Naman sometimes gave items away. "She was so loving and generous to everyone she met."
Naman and Fadalla were charter members of Springhill Business and Professional Women's Club, of which Naman served as president.
Naman also embraced Mobile and everything about it, from places like the Bellingrath Gardens and Home in Theodore to events like Mardi Gras, her family said.
And Naman practiced her faith every morning, visiting Corpus Christi Catholic Church before the workday began. She adopted the favorite saint of her mother, Saint Anthony.
"She lived her life as if nothing couldn't be accomplished because of her faith in God," Gibson said. "Her favorite saying was, 'No matter what, the Lord provides.'"
The chapter in the Bible that speaks of love, 1 Corinthians 13, describes Naman, Gibson said: "It could have been written by Mimi, but it was written about her."
Archbishop Emeritus Oscar H. Lipscomb, a friend of the family, was celebrant at the funeral and burial, while the Rev. James F. Zoghby, pastor at Corpus Christ, was concelebrant and eulogist. Gibson delivered a memorial in Naman's honor.
'I like that name'
Naman's nieces described her as a devoted "second mother" to them and the family's other children. In many photos, she is carrying a child, holding one by the hand or offering one in baptism, as was the case with Spencer, her goddaughter.
The checkout counter in her store bears witness to her love for her young nieces and nephews. Naman allowed them to write their names there, where they, in turn, left sweet messages for her. "Super Mimi," one reads.
In fact, it was Fadalla's oldest daughter, Helen Fadalla Hotard, who at age 3 coined "Mimi" as the nickname for Naman, who was born Amelia Mary. "You know, I like that name," Naman was quoted as saying.
About a year and a half ago, Naman and Fadalla were opening the store, and Naman stepped on a pebble, which caused her to fall. A perfectly healthy woman, she fractured her femur and spent months in the hospital.
Spencer and her husband, Gary, helped to keep the store open while Fadalla stayed with and cared for her sister. Customers would enter the shop, take a look around and say, "'Where are the ladies?'" said Gary Spencer.
In recent months, Naman had become well enough to return to the shop, but she never fully recovered from the fall, her family said.
"I remember having the most fun taking her back to her shop," Spencer said. "Her customers and their children alike would take running steps to see her."
Carol McPhail welcomes your suggestions for coastal Alabama Life Stories. Do you know an ordinary Alabamian who lived an extraordinary life? Contact McPhail at cmcphail@al.com
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