Jeanette Hester Jolly, age 91, of Russellville, passed away on Thursday, November 16, 2023, at her residence.
To know Jeanette is to realize that her four great passions in life were her faith, her love for family and friends, teaching, and music.
Jeanette very proudly called herself a born-again Christian and lived a life of profound faith. She proved her faith through her actions and words. She ministered to others through education and music, teaching Sunday school to high school students and playing the piano for decades at the First Presbyterian Church, in Russellville. She also enthusiastically shared her faith with friends, acquaintances, and strangers she encountered in everyday life. Her most important legacy is her boundless love for Jesus.
Early on, Jeanette aspired to be a professional musician. However, the combined influence of her delight in nature (having grown up on a farm) and excellent instruction in the Biology Department at Lindenwood College and at Vanderbilt University, led her to a career in science education, with an emphasis in Biology. Jeanette’s teaching career spanned forty-four years, of which she spent eight years at Gordon Lee High School in Chickamauga, Georgia, four years at the Brooke Hill School for Girls in Birmingham, and thirty-two years at Northwest Shoals Community College in Phil Campbell.
Jeanette’s expertise lies in taking abstract scientific concepts and making them understandable and exciting to the average student. She helped many science-averse students become knowledgeable, and in many cases, even passionate about everything from cellular biology to botany and zoology.
Jeanette had a multi-faceted personality. She was a comforter, counselor, comedian, prayer warrior, and sometimes all of these at once; a lover of life whose cheerful outlook brightened the lives of everyone she met.
Jeanette was preceded in death by her parents, William M. and Lena (Hamilton) Hester; mother-in-law, Ara M. Jolly; brother-in-law, James Vernon Jolly; double-first cousins James R. (Jim), William M. (Bill), and Charles M. Hamilton; along with several aunts and uncles.
She leaves to cherish her memory, her husband of 54 years, retired Circuit Judge John D. Jolly, daughter, Ginger E. Jolly, double-first cousin Ann Hamilton Houston (Bland), and several honorary nieces and nephews.
A graveside service will be tentatively Sunday afternoon, November 26, 2023, at Franklin Memory Gardens in Russellville. Dr. Randy Thompson will officiate.
The family would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to Kay Drummond, Ann Mills, Gayle Davis, Faye Baker, and Amy Davis for their faithful friendship and devotion throughout the years. The family would also like to thank Greta Boutwell, Tiona Estavan, Bonnie Dean, Jenny Skipworth, Lorie Knight, Jessica McCray and other staff at Hospice of North Alabama for their commitment and care.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to your charity of choice.
Spry Memorial Chapel assisted the family.
