Ellen Eugenia ‘Jeanie’ Westmoreland
Published 5:00 am Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Services for Ellen Eugenia “Jeanie” Westmoreland, of McComb, are11 a.m. Wednesday, July 11, at Central Baptist Church with the Rev.Bob Lynch and Bro. Tim King officiating. Burial will be in BogueChitto Cemetery. Jones Family Funeral Services in McComb is incharge of arrangements.
Visitation is Wednesday from 10 a.m. until the time of theservice at the church.
Mrs. Westmoreland, 78, died July 8, 2007, at McComb Nursing andRehabilitation. She was born March 20, 1929, in Bogue Chitto, toH.C. Montgomery and Annie Wooten Montgomery. She was the baby offour girls, “The Montgomery Girls” of Lincoln County.
After graduating valedictorian of her class at Bogue Chitto HighSchool, she attended Copiah-Lincoln Community College and thenmoved to McComb to begin work at Magnolia Electric. She was toremain there for 40-plus years as billing supervisor beforeretiring in 1993. The first day on the job, she met a handsome,full-of-himself man from Louisiana, who promptly told her andeveryone else that she was the woman he was going to marry.Thirteen years her senior, M.J. Westmoreland and Jeanie weremarried Sept. 4, 1949.
Her priorities were the Lord, church and family. Her first lovewas serving in any capacity at Central Baptist Church, where shewas a longtime member and taught Sunday School for 50 years, firstas a 16-year-old teacher of the girls class and later as youngadult teacher. The class has been named in her honor: “JeanieWestmoreland Sunday School Class.” She also served as church clerk,assistant organist and prayer warrior for many years.
Preceding her in death were her parents; her husband, JesseWestmoreland; her sisters, Hazel Craven, Betty Teague and NellReeves; and a special nephew, Freddie Craven.
She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Betty Ann andReid Rushing, of McComb; her granddaughters, Keri Seago Gatlin andhusband Tom, and Katie Seago; her great-granddaughters, TaylorAllyse and Lola Gatlin; her nieces, Shirley Kendrick, Martha Halland Vickie Cox; her nephew Glenn Reeves; special caregivers, KellyGentry, Pat Patterson, Stacy Hamilton, Jonah Lock, and othermembers of the Aston Court staff.
Pallbearers are Tom Gatlin, George Temple, Eric Reeves, BryanKendrick, Bobby Seago, Sammy Williams and Joey Rushing.
Honorary pallbearers are Gayden Smith, Ron Craft, Paul Dykes,Keith Gaskin, Victor Fairburn, Jerry Van and members of her SundaySchool class.