Mary Jeanette Reynolds

Jeannette, a longtime resident of Arkansas was born in the Township of Big Rock and graduated from Pocahontas High School in 1948. During her senior year she served on the student council and Homecoming Court, and was also a cheerleader. After attending Arkansas State Teachers College in Conway, Jeannette earned a BS in Biology with a minor in English from Memphis State University and graduated with honors in 1952. After marrying Dr. James Eugene Reynolds (“Rip”) of Milan, Tennessee in October, they moved to Los Angeles CA to complete his residency before settling in Chattanooga in 1953. There, Jeannette taught English and P.E. at Hardy Jr. High before interrupting her career to raise their three children. She later owned and operated The Little Country Store inside the Patton Building until her husband’s failing health in 1986 required her full-time assistance.

Jeannette was an avid gardener, baker, and reader, especially enjoying local and regional history. She relished any kind of travel, from driving a Winnebago cross-country with her mother and children to strolling in Monet’s garden at Giverny to exploring Disney World with her grandchildren. She was quietly generous to those in need, once paying a semester of college tuition for a friend and her kindness extended to pets and wildlife. She was known by her family and friends for her impish grin, boisterous laugh, and keen intellect, often making life-long friends simply by initiating conversations while standing in check-out lines. Jeanette was routinely sought for her baking secrets and her yeast rolls, sweet potato casserole, and chocolate fudge made her famous in several states.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Millard Fillmore Perrin and Maude Elizabeth Edrington, her brother Dr. M. Foy Perrin of Chattanooga, and her husband “Rip.”

Her survivors include her daughters Melanie Norris of Encino, CA and Marla Reynolds of Greenville, SC and her son Lance Reynolds of Chattanooga; three grandsons Graham Norris (Lee Arcuri), Brian Norris (Cara), and Matthew McMahan (Cate), two granddaughters, Melanie Albers (Brian) and Jamie Wier (Garrison); one great-granddaughter, Lela Albers and three great-grandsons, Simon and Elio Arcuri, and Gus Albers, whom Jeannette was thrilled to have met and bonded with via FaceTime, especially during the last weeks of her life. This year, despite failing health, she remained an informed, enthusiastic, and outspoken citizen and found support and fellowship in her membership of more than half a century at the Signal Mountain Baptist Church. Jeannette remained stoic and uncomplaining even as the coronavirus pandemic restrictions deprived her of her family and friends’ companionship. Eschewing self-pity in the face of hardship, she offered strength, comfort, and grace to all of those around her.

Jeannette will rest in perpetuity by her late husband at Chattanooga National Cemetery; a memorial service will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, her family welcomes memorial gifts to The Town of Walden Dog Park, PO Box 335, Signal Mountain TN 37377 or The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at: 888-557-7177, lls.org.

Arrangements are under the care of Chattanooga Funeral Home Crematory and Florist East Chapel, 404 South Moore Rd. East Ridge, TN 37412.

Please share your thoughts and memories at www.ChattanoogaEastChapel.com