Vivian Browning Centenio

Coleman Funeral Home of Oxford Vivian Virginia Browning Centenio, affectionately known as "Nana,” passed away peacefully at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford, Mississippi, Monday, April 7, at the age of 94. A longtime resident of Helena, Arkansas, and later Collierville, Tennessee, Nana spent the last year of her life at Elison Assisted Living in Oxford. She was born at home on a farm, on September 25, 1930, and worked as a clerk at the Helena Water Company before her retirement. She was married to the late Samuel Anthony Centenio of Helena. Nana is survived by her four daughters and their husbands: Linda and Johnny Broome of Hot Springs Village, Arkansas; Suzanne and Joe Atkins of Oxford; Michelle and Jimmie Mancell of Collierville, Tennessee; and Miriam and Todd Lundy of Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Survivors also include seven grandchildren: Michael Broome of Bossier City, La., Andy Gates of Mayflower, Ark., Jessica Byrd of Baton Rouge, La., Scott Parker of Marvell, Ark., Justin Chrisman of Florence, Ala., Liam Mancell of Collierville, Tenn., and Connor Mancell of Collierville, Tenn. For Nana, family meant everything, and she loved traveling with family and friends. After retiring, she and her beloved husband Sam traveled cross-country for months at a time in their camper, becoming “snowbirds” in south Florida and the Texas-Mexican border. They once traveled as far north as Alaska following a caravan of camping friends, where Nana drove the entire trip because “Papaw looked away too much.” They had many fun adventures on those road trips, including rafting on the Colorado River and parasailing in the Gulf, as well as frightening ones when Nana wrecked the camper in Tallahassee blocking all three interstate lanes and also lost her way for a few hours when she took the wrong path while walking alone down a nature trail in the Grand Tetons. Thankfully, there were no major injuries. When Nana and Sam weren’t working or traveling, they spent a lot of time fishing, and Nana kept her deal, sometimes reluctantly, made with Sam, “You catch them, and I’ll clean and cook them!” Childhood was difficult for Nana, who lost both her parents by the time she turned nine and was reared by a very strict grandfather. Life was hard in rural, Depression-era Arkansas, and Nana struggled for independence. After graduating from Marvell High School in Marvel, Arkansas, she traveled to Memphis to attend Draughon’s Business College only to find out her savings would only cover tuition, not room and board. Having lost her savings to the school with no monetary refund, she returned home to Arkansas to seek work. Her shorthand and typing skills as well as her perseverance not only helped her land her first job as a secretary at Arkansas Power and Light Company, but also gave her a kind boss, who became a father figure and gave her away in marriage. A blind date, arranged by friends after Nana spotted his yellow convertible, became the future love of her life, Sam. However, she met with strong resistance from her grandfather because Sam was full-blooded Sicilian. Love triumphed, however. For many years, Sam and Nana ran a neighborhood grocery and liquor store in Helena that included the normal grocery fare plus a wide range of Southern culinary exotica like pickled pig’s feet, pickled eggs and chitterlings. Their customers loved it! Sam and Nana raised their four daughters with lots of love, care, and compassion while teaching them invaluable life lessons based on family and faith. Nana volunteered at St. Mary’s in Helena, helping serve lunches in the school’s cafeteria, serving spaghetti suppers to parishioners, and baking her delicious rum and sour cream pound cakes for the annual church bazaar. Nana’s joy became her daughters. Her oldest, Linda, could always get Nana to laugh by speaking Sicilian slang and getting Nana to join in. Suzanne helped Nana balance the grocery store books even if she was off as little as two cents and later helped care for Nana in Oxford. Michelle usually had her rod and reel ready when her parents went fishing and also cared for Nana, who lived with them in Collierville for several years. Miriam was the “wildcat” of the four sisters, a born rebel, the first to leave Helena, but so beloved that it was Miriam’s name Nana called for most in her last days. Services will be held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Helena April 22. Visitation will be at 1 p.m. inside the church with a rosary at 1:30 p.m., funeral mass at 2 p.m., and graveside interment of ashes following the mass. A reception to celebrate Nana’s life will follow at the Edwardian Inn on Biscoe Street in Helena. Memorials can be made to Catholic Charities of Arkansas, Catholic Charities Diocese of Jackson, in Mississippi or Caregiver Resource Center, c/o Respite Day Services, 106 Skyline Drive, Oxford, MS, 38655

Vivian Browning Centenio

September 25, 1930 - April 7, 2025

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