Funeral services for Mrs. Vonnie Jean McNease were conducted at 11 a.m. Thursday, June 29, 2023, at Saulters Moore Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Ken Roberts officiating. Mr. Lyn Holloway provided special music during the chapel service.  Interment followed in the Bassfield Cemetery with the grandchildren and great-grandchildren honoring their grandmother’s memory with an a cappella presentation of “Jesus Loves Me.”   Mrs. McNease, age 94, entered into the eternal rest of her Lord Tuesday morning, June 27, 2023, at the Covington County Hospital.  Saulters-Moore Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

The family received friends Thursday morning, two hours prior to the chapel service, from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. at Saulters Moore Funeral Home.

Mrs. McNease was carried to her final rest by her pallbearers, Eli Street, Kyle Davis, Clay Cranford, Marty Kerley, Elijah Paige and Dale Dyess.  Honorary pallbearers included Le John Speights, Kurt Green and John Davies.

Born and raised in the heart of Carson, Mrs. McNease attended Carson High School and Pearl River Community College, where she was an outstanding basketball player.  In addition, she also attended the University of Southern Mississippi. In her earlier years, Mrs. McNease was a teacher and basketball coach at Agricola School, but devoted most of her life as a homemaker, nurturing her family. 

Mrs. McNease confessed a hope in Christ at an early age and attended the Carson Methodist Church.  After her marriage to her late husband, Ralph, they became members of the Bassfield Baptist Church, where she taught Sunday School and also Vacation Bible School.  Although unable to attend church in recent years, she faithfully supported her church with her tithe and remained a student of God’s Word, studying her Bible with a particular television minister that she enjoyed.

Known as an excellent cook, her fondest memories were always surrounded by two holidays: Christmas and Thanksgiving. These were special occasions where all of her family looked forward to being with one another and enjoying her chicken and dumplings.  Apart from cooking, gardening was another passion of hers; besides her flowers, she also enjoyed growing vegetables in her garden and canning them.    

She also had a talent for quilting and crocheting unique works of art.  Her hands’ workmanship will be gifted to her grandchildren – an eternal testament to the love she bestowed upon them.

Her family relates that one of her favorite things to do was to go to Stogner’s Fish Camp in Tylertown on Friday nights to eat catfish.  Her family also looked forward to celebrating her birthday each year, with a trip to Red Lobster, which was a favorite restaurant of hers.  Having an eye for detail, she was the epitome of Southern Grace, possessing class and always being dressed to the “nines” any time she went out.

Having an infectious laugh that could lift anyone’s mood, her family remarks on how fun loving she was.  In her earlier years, she would take her girls to Holiday Creek to swim with friends, while she and the other mothers would sit on the bank and chat. She was also serious about her sports.  She absolutely loved to watch Duke, West Virginia and North Carolina play basketball and her favorite football team was LSU.  An extra ordinary fan,

Mrs. McNease was not the average sports viewer; she knew not only the statistics of the team, but also even the personal affairs of the coaches’ families.  She absolutely enjoyed her sports.

Mrs. McNease had devoted her entire life in serving and caring for her family, especially during the difficult years of her husband Ralph’s poor health until his passing in 2008. She was also preceded in death by her parents, Fate and Gay Miller; her sisters, Opie Miller, Vera Gore and her brother, Grover Miller. 

Her memory will forever be cherished by her daughters, GayAnn Davies (John) and Janet Green (Kurt), both of Bassfield; her sister, Georgia Kerley of Bassfield and a brother, Buck Miller of Houston, Texas.  The legacy of their Mammaw will also live on through her grandchildren, Lindsay Cranford (Clay) of Oak Grove, Lori Street of Bassfield, Laura Davis (Kyle) of Collins and her great-grandchildren, Eli Street, Holly Street, Katy Watts, Lily Watts, Reagan Davis and Rowan Davis.