Jessie B. Walser

Jessie Burton Walser, 93, died peacefully at her home August 15. A devoted homemaker and mother of three, she brought spunk and positivity to a long and full life. Her passions included Bluegrass music, riding horses, growing vegetables and tending cows on a 9-acre family farm near Fountain Inn. For years, Jessie’s home-canned fresh tomatoes were secret weapons in the kitchen.

Often alone at home, she raised her children while her husband of 65 years, Lindsey Hugh Walser, travelled as a freight train engineer. His calls to report for work came randomly, often in the middle of the night, and she would spring up cheerfully at 2 a.m. to scramble eggs and pack his lunch. She could juggle tasks like cooking spaghetti and baking chocolate pound cake while supervising homework and crawling beneath the house to fix a leaky pipe. She was an anchor for her extended family in tough times.

Born in Spencer, NC, she was the 1949 salutatorian at Spencer High School, where she met her husband. They moved to Greenville in 1964 for his work with the Southern Railroad and relocated to Taylors in 1968. She was an avid horsewoman who enjoyed showing horses with her daughter, Leigh.

She taught herself to play guitar and memorized hundreds of songs without reading music, hosting weekly jam sessions in her den and performing with friends every month at Table Rock State Park. She mastered clogging and two-step and spent many weekends performing at fairs or enjoying local dance halls. She and Hugh had a regular Friday night table at Country Earle’s.

Jessie was a vivid storyteller who never met a stranger. She left an impression on grocery store clerks, beauticians and hospital nurses. A devoted Baptist, she worshipped at Taylors First Baptist Church.

Jessie is survived by her son James Lindsey Walser (Alanna)of Charlotte, NC, and daughters Marilyn W. Thompson of Washington, DC and Leigh Myzk of Louisa, VA; eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

The family will receive visitors on Sunday, August 24 at 12:00 PM at Mackey Funerals and Cremations at Memorial Park, 1 Pine Knoll Dr., Greenville, SC 29609, with a graveside service to follow at 1:00 PM in the park.