Amy Lois Sterling

Amy Lois Reidland Sterling, 79, of Dayton passed away unexpectedly on Monday, September 6 at Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital.

Visitation will be held 9:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m., Saturday, September 11, 2021, at Pace-Stancil Funeral Home, Dayton. Graveside service will follow at 11:00 a.m. at Magnolia Park Cemetery with Rev. Lee Gruver officiating.

Amy was born on November 8, 1941, in Liberty, TX to parents Raymond Floyd Reidland and Vida Eileen Morris. She attended Dayton High School where she played the saxophone and was a baton twirler for the marching band. There, she met her husband of 56 years, Bryan Lee Sterling. They lived in Houston for 29 years before moving back to Dayton in 1991.

Amy was a gifted seamstress and quilter, a skill she learned from her mother. She was known for making everything from evening gowns to Halloween costumes to quilts. In recent years, she was a member of The Relief Society’s quilting group at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who donated quilts to organizations in need. Additionally, she created custom dance and cheer uniforms for the Rowland Ballard School and sewed costumes for Kingwood High School’s theatre productions, both places her granddaughter performed. An avid supporter of the arts, she held season tickets to the Houston Ballet, Theatre Under the Stars, and Broadway at the Hobby Center.

To all who knew her, Amy was a talented, steadfast, and caring person. She spent her lifetime giving to others. In her free time, she filled tables with green rice and fudge, fostered animals, collected figurines of chickens, and cheered on the Texas A&M and the Dayton High School football teams. Her grandchildren will fondly remember how she celebrated each of them and their interests, and how she made every Christmas morning feel more magical than the last.

Mrs. Sterling is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her daughter Natalie Flynn, and her grandson Clarke Flynn. She is survived by two daughters, Lori Minzenmayer and husband Brian of Austin and Rachel King and husband John of Kingwood; sister, Barbara Flurry; grandchildren Kristin Minzenmayer, Ellen Daly, Melanie Roberson, Hannah Figer, Elise Figer, and Toby Riggs King.

For those who desire, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to Volunteers for Animal Protection or The Actors Fund.