Mary Lou Jameson, age 87, of Port Orange, went home to be with her Lord on Tuesday, February 17, 2015 at her residence. She was born October 4, 1927, in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Albert and Mildred (Antrobus) Rice, and was the younger of two sisters.
After graduating from high school Mary Lou attended nursing school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was there that she met the love of her life, MSG Robert E. Jameson (Jim) who swept her off her feet. They were married in Puerto Rico, where Robert was stationed in the USAF. Throughout the years, Mary Lou moved frequently being a military wife. She worked as a pharmacy technician for several years in Eau Gallie, Florida and also spent a few years as an Insurance Agent. She loved boating and spent many years living on a houseboat. Mary Lou loved to read and was a whiz at using her ipad for everything from downloading her favorite authors books to face timing with her kids. What Mary Lou loved most though was volunteering wherever help was needed. For many years she was active in Project Linus, knitting hundreds of baby blankets and hats. She had most recently been a volunteer at the Brannon Center in New Smyrna Beach for over ten years. Mary Lou and Jim spent 65 wonderful years together before his death in 2012.
Mary Lou was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Jim, and her sister, Alberta Rackleff. Mary Lou is survived by her daughters, Mary Lynn (Ray) Crawford of Bushnell, Fl., Cindy (Don) Belcher of New Smyrna Beach, Fl.; two grandsons, Keith Tackett and Chad Crawford; granddaughter Jennifer Bass; great grandsons Evan Bass and Chase Tackett and great granddaughter Sarah Gerrity.
A Celebration of Mary Lou's life will be held Saturday, Feb 28 at 1:00 pm at Baldwin Brothers, 1 N Causeway, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32169.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Florida Baptist Children's Home International Missions Organization, Orphan's Heart P.O. Box 8190, Lakeland, FL 33802. Orphan's Heart's is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide Christ-centered services to meet the physical, spiritual, emotional and medical needs of children and families throughout the developing world.
Condolences may be left in Mary Lou's online guestbook at http://www.baldwincremation.com/. The family wishes to extend their gratitude to the wonderful employees of Countryside Lakes in Port Orange for their care and support in her final days
I thought she was superwoman. Who else would yell at us to get inside this house right now ( using middle names of course).....GrAb a shotgun, go outside a blow the head off of a 5'11" rattlesnake. The same woman who had previously grabbed a hammer and beat a snake to death when it made the mistake of finding it's way into the wrong house. Superwoman........protecting her children.
She was smart. So smart that in the 50s she ran a drug store in eau Gallie doing everything but being the pharmacist. One of her many tasks there was to issue drivers licenses. She was so smart that she even issued one to herself, which might explain why she was never the best driver around!
I thought my mom was a movie star! Remember how at the movies they used to have big commercials for local shops before they showed the feature movie? Well whenever we went to the movies, there was my mom, wearing her white drug store uniform and her big pearl earrings starring in the drug store commercial. I was so wowed!!! My mom.....the starlet.
Because of my mom I turned out to be a great cook. I loved it. I started cooking in high school, Purely in self defense. Because mom, bless her heart, was a BAD cook! she had two rules of cooking.#1 Everything must go in one pot. #2 her dish was always named 'eat it or else'. I served eat it or else to my family for years!
I remember mom dragging me to church as a kid. Back then it was a very regimented, pious, silent event. Mom would give you 'the look' if your stomach dared to growl out loud. Later on in her life I got to be the one to take her to my church......and she learned that smiling, singing really loud, and even clapping your hands and jumping up and down was an awesome way to worship our Lord.
After Lynn and I grew up and got married, they actually sold the house and bought a houseboat to live on! No going back home.......no guest room.....go live your live and make it count.
Mom taught us to stand on our own two feet and to be responsible women. Mom taught us not to compare ourselves to others.....because people are much more screwed up than we think. And she taught us that no matter how much we care, some people are just jackasses.
My biggest blessing was that I got to know my mom, the woman.
Fiercely independent. A woman who always spoke her mind. Spending these last few years here in New Smyrna she became my confidant and my best friend. As much as I miss her, every time I think of her I picture her with my dad. And they are both so happy to be back together they are literally jumping up and down with joy, In Heaven.....with Jesus.
James 1:2-3 says, "Consider it a pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance."
The Lord said that we WILL face trials and that when we face trials we must have joy through them. He also said that the trials we will go through will be a testing of our faith. We must trust His word and rely on Him when everything else seems to fail. He is peace. He is faithful. He is all-knowing. He deserves every praise, even when we are in the middle of a storm. So, even though right now we are facing a trial, praise Him and thank Him. He knows you the best, yet He still loves you the most.
Most of you know that if don and I were
Not here today we would be in prison telling the incarcerated about the Love of Christ. So today I have to ask you, If you died tonight, do you know for sure that you will enter heaven? When you stand before Gods judgment throne, if He asks you, Why should I let you into heaven, what will you say?
If the first words that come out of your mouth are, I did this, I did that, or Im a good person, you have faith in yourself instead of faith in Christ. Your savior is you, instead of Christ.
But if the first words that come out of your mouth are, Jesus Christ died to pay for my sins, and your life proved your faith, then God will welcome you into the kingdom of heaven.
When the jailer asked the apostle Paul, What must I do to be saved? Paul didnt say, Get baptized, go to church, go to confession, try to be good, do this, and do that, etc. No, no, no! He said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.
Sin brought death, funerals, and burials into the world. But Jesus Christ brought eternal life. Trust Him now to change you and give you the free gift of eternal life.
After Cindy and I were married, I started calling Mary Lou "Mom" because it only seemed natural. Mary Lou and I always had an excellent relationship and the affectionate title of "Mom" established that I respected her and held her in high regard. Mr. Jameson preferred to be called "Jimmy" so that's the way it was for me, Mom and Jimmy.
They lived in Oak Hill for several years and Mom was always ready to have company and she would prepare a big dinner when we visited from Melbourne. I still remember the shrimp dish she made and she continued to make it for our Christmas gatherings.
Mom and Jimmy never let "the dust settle" but had a full and active retirement which included traveling the Florida waterways coast to coast (in their own houseboat), vacationing on the cruise lines and other travel. They were both involved in volunteer work and Mary Lou worked at the Brannon Center as a volunteer for 10 years. They were using their camper up into their 80s.
One of the things that impressed me about Mom was her computer skills. When we lived in TN mid 90's, she was staying with us and became interested in the computer as a way to communicate with Cindy (another adventurous undertaking) this continued to blossom into a good user knowledge regarding the internet and the computer. She always made her own greeting cards and kept up with friends and family using her PC. Then one day she decided to get an IPAD and before long she was using that as her main communications medium. After she moved to the assisted living facility, she wanted her old computer setup also, so she was a computing great grandma using two different computer operating systems, an impressive feat considering she was 87.
When I retired in '03, we could have lived anywhere we wanted but we chose to be near Mom and Jimmy. Yes, they both had some aging health issues but in the big picture, we were the ones that were blessed by getting to know them deeply. Yes, there is great pain that sometimes accompanies life but the blessings of engagement far outweigh the pain of loss and stays with you forever.
I look forward to our re-uniting in Heaven. After living a long and full life, Mom has escaped this dust-ball we call home but we will see her soon in the real home".
Do you think that everyone that dies goes to heaven? The answer to this question is NO ! So how do I know that Mom is in heaven? As an engineer and scientist, I like concrete and specific answers, like if you put water in the pool and if you jump in .then you will get wet. So I can explain THE ANSWER to you a simple statement that is as clear as the blue sky.
I know Mom is in heaven for one clear and simple reason, because the Bible says If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.(Romans 10:9) and I knew her heart and I heard her words. If you are not sure where you are going, Cindy and I would be happy to discuss it with you
While I am still on this dust ball called Earth, I will miss Mom every day as I still miss my own mother every day .but for us who remain, it is NOW our challenge to turn our pain of loss into fond memories.
I have been blessed to have had Mary Lou Jameson as my mother-in-law.
Our visits and phone calls were always so upbeat. She was a very special and
"with it" lady and will be missed by many.
My condolences to all her family and friends, but, especially to her daughter, Cindy, and husband. Don, who took such good care of her for the past several years.
"My ears had heard about You, but now my eyes have seen You." Job 42:5
You will be missed deeply, we love you. Until we meet again in Heaven.
Keeping your Family in our Hearts and Prayers.
Psalm 27:4-5
One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.