Jimmye Lois McNeer Taylor's Obituary
Jimmye Lois McNeer Taylor, age 79, of Bella Vista, Arkansas, passed from this life Saturday, October 15, 2022. She was born February 28, 1943, in Durant, Mississippi, the oldest daughter of the late Raiford McNeer, Sr. and Nellie Autry McNeer. Also preceding Jimmye in death were her brother, Raiford “Buzzy” McNeer, Jr., and brothers-in-law, George Chesser and Ross Hart.
Jimmye was a member of the Durant High School girls’ basketball team, although she was convinced the coach offered her a spot to compel her younger and much more athletic sisters to play. Their father was always delighted when all three of his girls were on court at the same time. Jimmye was a gifted pianist, and she also loved to waterski, despite never learning how to swim. A boyfriend with a ski boat perhaps filled her with a fearless disregard for the risk of drowning.
After graduating from high school, Jimmye attended Memphis State University and Baptist Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, where she graduated in 1964. She worked as a registered nurse for more than 40 years in various surgical specialties, including ophthalmology. She loved the operating room, and she loved to talk about eye surgery at the dinner table – often to the dismay of her family. As a nurse and mother, she cared for her family’s needs with love, but she didn’t hesitate to question the legitimacy of symptoms that presented an hour before the start of school. She could not be fooled by a thermometer surreptitiously held under hot water.
In 2000 and 2001, she traveled to Mombasa, Kenya as a member of a medical mission team with Lighthouse for Christ Mission and Eye Centre. There, she assisted in dozens of cornea transplant surgeries. God gave her a passion for ophthalmology and the opportunity to serve the visually-impaired, and her heart remained with Lighthouse for Christ long after she left Kenya. Jimmye loved best the work that allowed her to connect with patients, and she was quick to make even a brief interaction meaningful.
Following her retirement, Jimmye moved from Dallas to Little Rock to be close to her grandson, James Fletcher, and his parents. After more than 50 years of begrudging her being given a boy’s name, she was compelled to embrace it by a little guy who called her Nana. The two shared a name and a bond forged over hours in the kitchen perfecting their homemade brownie recipe.
Jimmye was a member of Christ Lutheran Church in Little Rock, where she celebrated the baptism of two more grandsons – Thomas and Everett. The boys and their parents moved to Fayetteville in 2013, and Jimmye joined them in Northwest Arkansas when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Despite the effects of the disease, Jimmye continued to bring joy to everyone around her, especially her caregivers at House of Three in Rogers and Bella Vista.
Jimmye is survived by her daughter, Jennifer Taylor Hall (Michael); grandsons, Fletcher Hall, Thomas Hall, and Everett Hall; sisters, Martha McNeer Chesser and Charlyne McNeer Hart; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
A funeral service will be held Saturday, October 29, at 11:00am at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 2730 East Township, Fayetteville, AR, under the direction of Nelson-Berna Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial gift to Lighthouse for Christ Mission and Eye Centre, www.lighthouseforchrist.org.
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