Jo Nell Dye

Jo Nell Younger Dye, 93, departed this life on May 4, 2020. She was a selfless Christian with a big heart, a quick wit and a loving spirit who was devoted to her friends and family and served as a constant source of encouragement to each and every one of them. One of the many Bible verses she loved to quote was Proverbs 3:6, which says “In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” Over her many years, she traveled many paths in life: walking several miles into town as a child to pick up medicine for her mother; running down the gravel road from her house to meet her father after work; carrying his lunch pail as they walked home together.

Jo Nell was born August 27, 1926, in Paris, Tennessee, the daughter of the late Joseph Clifton Younger and the late Minnie Harmon Younger. She attended Lee School and Grove High School in Paris.

She moved to Memphis in 1945, where she worked at Lowenstein’s department store and enjoyed dancing to the big band music of the day at the Silver Slipper and the Peabody Skyway.

It was at one of these dances at the Fairgrounds Casino ballroom that she met the love of her life, the late Robert W. Dye, and they married in 1947, making their home in Bartlett.

She loved growing herbs, flowers and reading so much that she often kept a book in her hand while cooking at the stove. Her fondness for Southern cooking supplied an endless array of good food for her growing family of six. Hot biscuits in the oven and a banana pudding on the counter were a common sight in the Dye household. Being a mother was her proudest role. She often quoted Jaqueline Kennedy saying, “If you mess up raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much.”

An avid walker, she loved nothing more than to be on a gravel road walking for miles, with only the sound of the wind rustling through the trees. Her faith and sense of humor helped her traverse the more difficult times in her life. She could always see the lighter side of a problem, often saying, “It could be worse,” with a slight smile.

She was a faithful member of Bartlett Baptist Church, where she taught 5-year-olds in Sunday School and attended Bible study for more than 50 years. She volunteered at St. Francis Hospital for many years helping patients and their families with basic needs, a job she liked to say made her “feel like a watered garden.”

Jo Nell was so famous for her quotes that her daughter made a quilt of them, which won the grand prize at the Mid-South Fair. She will be remembered for her compassion, her faith and her unwavering love.

She is survived by her two daughters, Judy Hays (Jim) and Leigh Ann Dye; her sons, David Dye (Debbie) and Robert Dye (Emily), all of Memphis, TN; two grandchildren, Katherine “Kakky” Dye of Washington D.C., and Thomas Dye of Atlanta, Georgia.

Along with her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her brother, Harmon Younger; two sisters, Thelma Warren and Katherine Winchester; and her nephews Bob Winchester and Fred Winchester.

Private graveside services will be held at Memphis Memory Gardens.

The family requests that memorials be made directly to The Salvation Army and the Memphis Food Bank.