Jimmie Neely

October 23, 1929 - June 18, 2020

October 23, 1929 - June 18, 2020 Jimmie Louise Riddle Neely, of Sand Flat, Texas, went to be with her Lord and Savior Thursday, June 18, 2020 at Homeplace Hospice of East Texas, Tyler, Texas. Jimmie was born on October 23, 1929 in Flomont, Texas to William (Buck) Armstrong Riddle and Merle Pyron Riddle. Jimmie moved to East Texas in 1939 and graduated from Tyler High School in 1947. She enrolled at Tyler Junior College and attended one year during which she met and fell in love with Erroll Wesley McFarland of Flint, Texas. The two married six months later and moved to the Sand Flat Community in 1952. They joined Antioch Baptist Church where she attended faithfully until, for medical reasons, she had to move to Wesley House Assisted Living Facility in Lindale, Texas. Jimmie was a stay at home Mom but was extremely active in her church, community and family activities. She taught Vacation Bible School and was an excellent Sunday School teacher. She touched the lives of many young men and women still living in Sand Flat but none more than her Grandson Caleb who she led to the Lord Jesus Christ. She always had time for ministering to others in the community and made time for any who visited her home. She was a loving Mother and served as a home room mother for her three children Benita, Lynn, and Eddies Wayne. Jimmie was very proud of the fact that she was one-fourth Choctaw Native American on her Daddy’s side. She carried her Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood card with her at all times. On her 90th Birthday she received a letter from the Chief of the Choctaw Nation recognizing her as a “Chata Elder”, one of the most respected honors that can be bestowed on a member of the Choctaw Nation. Accompanying the letter was a “Wisdom Blanket” provided to elders for the guidance and wisdom given to others throughout their life. She is preceded in death by her parents; husband Erroll Wesley McFarland; son Eddie Wayne McFarland; brother Buddy Riddle; brother Johnny Austin; brother-in-law, Clifford Bartley, brother-in-law, Norman Cates; husband Dan Blackburn; and husband Leon Neely. She is survived by her daughter Benita McFarland Turner and husband Bob of Tyler; son Lynn McFarland of Tyler; step-children Wayne Blackburn and wife Denise of Flint, Texas; Vicky Poskey of Ashland, Missouri; Melinda Powell and husband Scotty of Sand Flat, Texas; Preston Neely and wife Sarah of Sonora, Texas; and Frank Neely and wife Marty of Conroe, Texas; sisters Merlene Loving and husband Edsel, Lindale; Willene Bartley, Lindale; Carole Cates, Waxahachie, Texas; Linda Sanders and husband Roger of Idabel, Oklahoma. In addition, she has twenty grandchildren, thirty-one great grandchildren, three great-great grandchildren and many cherished nieces and nephews. Pallbearers are: Charles Wilson, Sand Flat, Texas; nephew—Monte Cates, Waxahachie, Texas; grandsons—Troy Turner, Tyler; Adam Turner, Tyler; Senior Airman Caleb McFarland, Seymour Air Force Base, Goldsboro, NC; Dustin Hollingsworth, Hideaway, Texas. Jimmie was a humble woman who never sought praise or attention. She was a woman who feared the Lord and He will “praise her and give her the fruit of her hands and her own works will praise her in the gates”. Proverbs 31: 30-31. Funeral services for Jimmie will be held at 10:00 A.M. Monday, June 22, 2020 at the Caudle-Rutledge-Daugherty Funeral Home in Lindale, Texas with Rev. Steven Nipp officiating. Interment will follow in the Sand Flat Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. Sunday, June 21, 2020 at the Caudle-Rutledge- Daugherty Funeral Home. SPECIAL NOTE: At the Neely Family’s request, all who attend the funeral service and visitation are asked to wear face masks.