Jeannie Allbritten

Jeannie Mackay Allbritten, 84, passed away peacefully in April 3, 2024. She was the third of the five children born to Robert and Louise Mackay. She enjoyed a happy childhood in the Lawrence Park Township of Erie, Pennsylvania. When Dad was transferred to the new General Electric plant, the Mackay clan moved to Fern Creek, Kentucky. She would graduate from Fern Creek High, and would go on to earn a bachelors degree in Education from Murray State College. It was there that she met her husband Edward, “Eddie” Allbritten over the counter at Rudy’s Café on the Square. They were married in 1961. Jeannie and Eddie returned to Louisville, where Jeannie began teaching at Indian Trail Elementary School. She took a break in 1964 to have her son, Jamie. Since this was in the days before Maternity Leave, she lost a few years on her retirement – a fact she reminded him of often. In 1969, with Maternity Leave established, Jeannie could take time off to celebrate the arrival of her daughter, Dorothy.

Her work at Indian Trail was very meaningful. Hundreds and hundreds of students passed through her second-grade classroom, and all were better for the education Jeannie gave to them. Her strongest and finest friendships came out of the relationships she formed with her colleagues at Indian Trail. The “Ya-Yas” as they came to be known, were there for her until the very end of her life. After retirement, Jeannie couldn’t shake the teaching bug, and continued teaching Kindergarten at Whitehall Day Care and Meadowview Presbyterian, where she became a member. Her church family gave her life a new purpose in her last act. As her health began to decline, she became a resident at Glen Ridge Health Campus. There she enjoyed the camaraderie of her new friends, and once again the teaching bug bit as she agreed, albeit briefly, to lead a bible study with another resident.

She is preceded in death by her husband of 37 years, Edward, her sisters Betty and Joan, and her brother Bob. She is survived by her brother Don Mackay, her son Jamie Allbritten and his wife Marilyn, her daughter Dorie Smith, Teagan Faust grand daughter of her heart, her grand dog Chunk, and the hundreds of students whose lives she may have changed. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Heuser Hearing & Language Academy Scholarship Fund.

A visitation for Jeannie will be held Thursday, April 11, 2024 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM at Arch L. Heady at Resthaven, 4400 Bardstown Road, Louisville, KY 40218, followed by a funeral service from 1:00 PM with burial to follow at Resthaven Memorial Park.