Betty Jean Speed Mcdonald

Funeral Services for Mrs. Betty Jean Speed McDonald will begin at 2:00 PM Thursday, March 24, 2022 at Poplar Springs Drive Baptist Church with the Reverend Dr. John Temple and Dr. Bill McDonald officiating. Interment will follow at Magnolia Cemetery. Robert Barham Family Funeral Home is honored to be entrusted with the arrangements.

Our mother, known variously by her family as Betty Jean, or B.J., age 91, formerly of Meridian, MS passed away Thursday, March 17, 2022, in the presence of her children at her home of late in Bartlett, TN.  After her husband of 70 years passed last July, she was not so keen on this world, but love for her family kept her around long enough to make sure everyone and everything were cared for properly.

She was born June 2, 1930 in Meridian, the youngest of six children. She was raised by a nurturing mother under the watchful, protective eye of her oldest brother and sister, who were given the task of deciding her name. Had her brother won out, her name would have been ‘Dolores del Rio’ Speed, after the saucy Latin screen star of the time. But, alas, her sister prevailed and named her Betty Jean. She learned well from the nurture of her siblings, for it was she who spent so much of her adult life caring for them, and their mother before them, as their needs arose.

Mother spent her entire life for her family. She loved her children and taught us practical life lessons, such as the girls should never leave the house without lipstick and always use a handkerchief. And she taught me to close the back door, because “What are you trying to do, air condition Lauderdale County?” She cared for us and made sure our needs were met, first and foremost. She loved her grandchildren and derived immense joy from watching them grow up and become responsible adults and even parents. And she loved her great-grandchildren, including the two who are expected soon. She cared for her extended family members, at great expense to herself. But for her the number one person on earth, whom she called “Mr. Wonderful”, was our father. They were married 70 years and 3 months.

An ancient Near Eastern sage presents us with the model image of the valiant woman, the woman of substance, and asks the question, “Who can find such a one?” We would answer that in our mother, we have come pretty close. “Her children rise up and bless her; her husband also praises her, saying, ‘Many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all.’ ” Our mother taught us our faith, and she demonstrated it day and night, through happy times and dark times. Her faith was not of the pie-in-the-sky variety but the kind that sometimes demanded she grit her teeth and hang on for dear life. And hang on she did. During the darkest times, she questioned, she cried out, she despaired, but she never let go. She showed us what faith looks like in the trenches, and we will never forget the lessons learned from watching her.

Mama is survived by her children, Missy Jennings (John), Bill McDonald (Leslie), and Molly Matheny (Harvey); her grandchildren, Laura Kathryn Ballagh (Ben), Sarah Ann Jennings, Mary Elise Jennings, Drew McDonald (Susanna), Lauren McDonald, Harrison Matheny (Lauren), Anna Evans (Matthew), and Lamar Matheny; 5 great-grandchildren; her sister-in-law Mary Katharine McDonald Evans; many nieces and nephews; and a multitude of friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Calvin Lamar McDonald, Jr.; her parents, Myrtis Hyde Speed Pagan and Albert Sydney Speed; her sister, Catherine R. Speed Croxdale; and four brothers, Albert, Jesse, R.L., and Jack Speed.

We will forever be grateful to Mother’s dear friend Brigitte Hicks, who cared for her with undying devotion, love, and loyalty. We also would like to offer special thanks to the caregivers from Home Instead and from Sta-Home and Southern Care hospices in Meridian and from Senior Care and from Avalon Hospice in Memphis, who befriended and cared for our mother so compassionately.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Poplar Springs Drive Baptist Church Children’s Ministry, where she gave so much of her time during the prime of life.

Pallbearers will be John Jennings, Harvey Matheny, Drew McDonald, Harrison Matheny, Lamar Matheny, and Matthew Evans.

Online condolences may be expressed at www.robertbarhamffh.com.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, March 24, 2022 from 1:00 PM until 1:45 PM in the sanctuary of Poplar Springs Drive Baptist Church.