Jeanette McKenzie McCormack

On September 21, 2015, the day of her 107th birthday, Jeanette McKenzie McCormack passed away from natural causes in Dallas, Texas. Born in Prescott, Arkansas, to former state Senator Henry Bonner McKenzie and Fannie Pittman McKenzie in 1908, she spent most of her life in Arkansas. In her later years, she relocated to Dallas to be near her daughter and grandchildren. Her great-grandson liked to remark that she was walking before the Titanic floated and read newspaper reports about World War I. Aside from her great devotion to her family, who were equally dedicated to her, Jeanette valued her professional life. She loved teaching English, History, Journalism, and Drama at Prescott, Stuttgart, North Little Rock, Little Rock Central, and Little Rock Parkview High Schools. She eventually became a school guidance counselor. She influenced student lives for the better, inspiring dedicated attention to correct grammar and punctuation. She believed good writing and reading were valuable tools for developing character and mental acuity. Many school yearbooks were dedicated to her. Decades after their graduation, she continued to inspire and advise former students in their careers. Jeanette won many awards as an outstanding teacher and educator. Her Hendrix College undergraduate degree and her Master of Science degree from the University of Arkansas were among her proudest accomplishments. The academic life was not her only path to enjoyment and satisfaction. A childhood illness of typhoid fever motivated her to pay particular attention to nutrition throughout her exceptionally long life. The eating and preparation of high-quality food was her mantra long before words such as organic entered the common vernacular. "Grandmother's cooking had the ‘touch of an angel,' " her granddaughter Alex often told friends. A natural beauty, Jeanette walked with a lithe gait, graceful and full of vitality. At Hendrix, she was honored to be a "Campus Beauty." She took pleasure in theater, music, and opera. In retirement, she enjoyed world travel, entertaining friends and family, playing bridge, presenting at book clubs, modeling at fashion shows, tutoring her grandchildren in their writing, and her membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution. But neither degrees nor other activities were as important to her as the joy and pride she had in her family. Jeanette leaves a legacy filled with the love of intellectual achievement, of home and family, and of aspiring to be the best one can be. Preceding her in death were her beloved daughter, Fran Tomlinson Beard of Dallas, her brother, Horace McKenzie and his wife Lawrence Britt McKenzie, her sister, Evelyn McKenzie, her nephew, James McKenzie, and husband Franklin McCormack, all of Arkansas. Her survivors include her son-in-law, Samuel Jerome Beard Jr., her granddaughter, Alex ("Jeanette Pittman") B. Ramsey, her grandson, Scott McKenzie Beard, her great-grandson, Christian Samuel Kelso and his wife, Bethany Anne Kelso, and her great-great-grandchildren, Preston Samuel Kelso and Campbell Sterling Kelso, all of Dallas. Her niece, Betty McKenzie Formby of Hot Springs and her grandnieces, Miki and Jeff Morrow and Kris and Mike Raub also survive her. A memorial service will be held at the First United Methodist Church of Prescott, Arkansas, on Saturday, September 26, at 3:30 p.m. Memorials may be sent to a favorite charity or to the First United Methodist Church in Prescott. Arrangements made by Brazzel/Oakcrest The Funeral Home of Hope, Eddie Brazzel, Director. Online condolences: www.brazzelfuneralhomes.com.