Gwenzetta Mickens, 73, of Waco passed away Saturday, November 23, 2019 in Waco, Texas. A rosary and memorial will be at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, 1312 Dallas Street, Waco, Texas 76703, on Sunday, December 1, 2019 at 10:00.

Gwenzetta was born on June 17, 1946 in Detroit, Michigan, to Mildred Lee Morris and Harold Jefferson Thornton. She graduated from Mercy High School in Detroit in 1965 and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from The University of Detroit in 1969.

In a distinguished supervisory and managerial career that spanned more than 46 years, Gwenzetta was a pharmaceutical manufacturing professional at Parke-Davis, Warner-Lambert, Boehringer Ingelheim, Abbott Laboratories, Hospira, and Allergan, and worked in the states of Michigan, Connecticut, North Carolina, and Texas.

Gwenzetta was a member of the Knights of Peter Claver, the largest historically African American Catholic lay organization in the United States; in 2017, she was honored with the title "Gracious Lady" in the highest degree of the Knights. Gwenzetta was a devoted parishioner at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church for more than 10 years.

Gwenzetta was a most beloved mother and grandmother, and she will be missed by all. She was preceded in death by her parents and her elder sister Charlesetta Kannenberg.

Gwenzetta is survived by her brother Jimmie Sutton Jr. and her sisters Revela Sutton, Joanie Williams and Kymberlee Thornton; her three children: Jessica Breda, Sean Mickens, and Alisa Williams; her sons-in-law Atwell Williams and Paolo Breda, and daughter-in-law Brandy Mickens; her granddaughters Sydney Williams and Aaria Mickens; and numerous nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, Gwenzetta's family requests that donations be made to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church at 1312 Dallas Street, Waco, Texas 76703, or to Providence Hospice Place at 6700 Sanger Avenue, Waco, Texas 76710.