Neta was born to Tate and Marjorie Kimbrough and spent much of her childhood traveling with her parents due to Tate's job with TVA. She graduated from high school in Murphy, NC and began her college studies at LMU, driven by her passion to be a teacher. During her time at LMU, Neta fell in love with Claiborne County and with Ronnie Lee Munsey, the love of her life. She graduated from LMU after finishing in three years in 1961 and married Ronnie, making Claiborne County her permanent home. Neta took her first teaching position in a one room schoolhouse in 1962 and would continue to dedicate her life to education and students all over Claiborne County. She officially retired from teaching in 2011 after serving as the Assistant Principal at Claiborne High for 15 years. At the time of her death, she remained an active member of the school board. Beyond her educational contributions, Neta was dedicated to improving the lives of those in her community. She was a founding member of the Celebrate Recovery program, was on the board for Habitat for Humanity, and a founding member of Build A Better Claiborne. In 1967, Neta and Ronnie opened one of the first supermarkets in Claiborne County, Munsey IGA, which they ran until 1981. Neta's faith was also important to her. She was a faithful member and deaconess of New Tazewell Christian Church.
Beyond her many professional accomplishments, Neta was a loving and devoted mother, grandmother, aunt, sister, and friend. She raised her two boys by herself when Ronnie died in 1978. Even on top of her career, she supported her sons and showed up for them in everything they did. She never missed a football game or a chance to cheer them on and continued this for her grandchildren as well. Her love of sports was a big part of her life. She loved to play any and all sports growing up, which led to her coaching sports at SMMS and Claiborne High School. After coaching but before retirement, she remained a part of sports by serving as the Athletic Director at Claiborne High. Neta was an avid UT fan and enjoyed every chance she got to go watch them play.
Neta was preceded in death by her parents, Tate and Marjorie Kimbrough; sisters, Sandra Rogers and Sue Kimbrough; husband, Ronnie Lee Munsey; father and mother-in-law, Jack and Hazel Munsey; son, Timothy Wayne Munsey.
Left to mourn her passing are son, Russell (Malinda) Munsey; daughter-in-law, Amy Munsey; grandchildren, Callie (Spencer) Keck, Delaney Munsey, Kelsy Munsey, and Deacon Munsey; brother, Richard (Linda) Kimbrough; brothers-in-law, Jackie (Kay) Munsey and Tom Rogers; as well as a host of nieces, nephews, other family and friends.
The family will receive friends on Friday, September 19, 2025 from 5:00 PM until 8:00 PM at Coffey Funeral Home in New Tazewell. Funeral will be held on Saturday, September 20, 2025 at 11:00 AM with burial to follow in the Shoemaker Cemetery in New Tazewell.
Officiating: Robert Sparks
Eulogy: Bob Oakes
Singing: Living Water
Pallbearers: Bob Oakes, Shane Bunch, Andy Duncan, Jeff Haynes, Bill Partin, Jeremy Whitaker, Todd Daniels
Honorary Pallbearers: Members of the Claiborne County School Board
Per the families request, In Lieu of Flowers, donations can be made in Neta's honor to the Building Better Claiborne fund at Hearthside Bank or P.O Box 328, Tazewell, TN 37879.
