Obituary: Jeanne Waller Campbell
Jeanne Waller Campbell, aged 102, went home to the loving arms of Christ in the early morning hours of June 4, 2025, following a brief illness. She lived a long and fulfilling life centered in God, family, and friends. Jeanne shared kindness and encouragement to all those she encountered.
Jeanne Elizabeth Russell was born on November 21, 1922, at the family home on McNeal Street in Bolivar, Tennessee to Johnye Webb Russell and James Franklin Russell, Sr. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by two siblings, Paul Oakley Russell and Janette Russell Lawrence, and two half-siblings, Ann Eva Russell and James Franklin Russell, Jr. Jeanne was also preceded in death by Burton Waller, her husband of 53 years, and James E. Campbell of Jackson, to whom she was married late in life.
Apart from her college years, Jeanne lived in Bolivar for the first 85 years of her life. When encouraged, she could tell all sorts of stories about her life and adventures with her extended family and friends. She spoke about the arrival of electricity and telephone service to Bolivar, told both sad and funny stories about living through the Great Depression, and recounted rolling bandages and using rationing coupons during World War II. Jeanne was a proud charter member of the VFW Auxiliary Post #2949 and was a long-time member of the local Tuesday Literary Club.
Both the Russell and Waller families were close-knit, and she always encouraged her extended family to know and value each other. Jeanne ensured that all in the family understood the importance of faith, education, proper grammar, table manners and respect for others. In addition to her family, she devoted much of her life to Bolivar First Baptist Church, where she served as a Sunday school teacher and leader in the Women’s Missionary Union. She participated in the jail ministry and delivered meals to the homebound. Jeanne sang in the Golden Sounds choir and played the piano on a regular basis at area nursing homes as a personal ministry.
Jeanne was a graduate of the class of 1940 at Bolivar Central High School and was a starting forward on the girls’ basketball team that won the 1940 West Tennessee Championship in an era before a state tournament existed. She graduated in 1943 from The University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in Home Economics and enjoyed watching the Vols play football and basketball. Jeanne had a special love for Lady Vols basketball. She was a retired teacher from the Hardeman County Schools and a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, a professional society for women educators. She resided at The Village at Germantown since 2007 where she was affectionately known as “the cookie lady” for baking cookies and other treats for friends and staff.
Chapel services will be held at Shackelford Funeral Directors on Sunday, June 8, 2025, at 3 p.m. in Bolivar with the burial in Union Cemetery.
Jeanne is survived by her two sons, George Michael Waller of Smyrna, Tennessee and Burton Woodrow Waller, Jr. (Sandra) of Memphis, Tennessee. Other survivors include grandchildren, Andrea Waller Price (Chris) of Murfreesboro, Bo Waller of Bolivar, Mary Beth Waller Sisco (Michael) of Rossville, and Craig Waller and Catherine Waller of Memphis; great grandchildren Michaela Price Griggs (Justin), Brayden Waller, Ava Rae Sisco, Eli Sisco, Austin Sisco, and Ally Sisco Moffitt (Cole).
In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations or memorials be directed to the Lottie Moon Mission Offering at Bolivar First Baptist Church or to Brinkley Heights Ministry in Memphis, Tennessee.
Courtesy of Shackelford Funeral Directors, Bolivar, Tennessee.
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