Bessie “Bess” French McNeer, 91, of Maumelle, Arkansas went from the loving arms of her family to the welcoming arms of Jesus on March 8, 2022 after a short illness. She was born to Mary Isabella and Stanton Graves French, Sr. on May 27, 1930. She is preceded in death by her husband, William Lee McNeer, Sr., her parents, and two older brothers S.G. French, Jr. and John French.
Bessie lived in the Memphis area most of her life and graduated from Whitehaven High School in 1948. She loved gardening and was a member of several garden clubs. Tennis and ballroom dancing were also passions of hers which contributed to her fitness in life. She was a devout Baptist and taught Sunday school classes, presided over Women’s Missionary Unions, and sang soprano in church choirs.
Left to treasure her memory are her three children, Lynn Jessup of Maumelle, Arkansas, William L. McNeer, Jr. (Lisa) of Southaven, Mississippi, and Leslie Blackwell of Conway, Arkansas. Her younger brother, Rev. Fred French, survives in Paducah, Kentucky. She has four grandchildren, Megan Moix (Kane) of Conway, Arkansas, Matthew Johnston (Kaitlyn) of Fayetteville, Arkansas, Logan McNeer of Southaven, Mississippi, and Reece McNeer of Dallas, Texas. She has three great grandchildren, Hudson and Barrett Moix, and Parker Johnston. There is a host of nieces and nephews on both the French side and McNeer side of the family that are also very cherished.
Visitation will be at Memphis Funeral Home on Poplar Avenue, on Friday, March 18 from 6 to 8 pm. Funeral service will be at the funeral home on Saturday, March 19, at 10 am with burial to follow in Forest Hill Midtown Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Wounded Warrior Project, which was one of Bessie’s favorite charities.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.MemphisFuneralPoplar.com for the McNeer family.
