Jackie Wright Bateman Lindsey is safely home, arriving in heaven on October 4, 2017, in the same month she was born, 94 years earlier, in Worth County. Her funeral service will be held at 4:00 p.m. Saturday, October 7, 2017, in the Memorial Chapel of Tifton’s First Baptist Church with Dr. Wayne Roe and the Rev. Paul Thomas officiating. Mrs. Lindsey will be laid to rest at Hillcrest Cemetery in Sylvester. The family will receive friends Saturday, October 7, 2017, from 3:00 p.m. until the hour of the service in the Memorial Chapel of Tifton's First Baptist Church.
Mrs. Lindsey's family members will serve as pallbearers.
She was the daughter of the late Jonathan Allison Wright and Pauline Houston Wright. She was the middle of five children. Her brother, Herman Wright, was oldest, followed by Mary, then Jackie, then Mildred and Voncile. Only Voncile Wright Williams of Valdosta is still living.
Jackie grew up in the Doles community, where her father was a farmer.
After graduating from high school, she moved to Sylvester, working at the Ration Board during World War II. When the war ended, she met Ronnie Bateman, upon his return home. They married and had three children in quick succession, Ron, Judy and Wayne. Jackie and Ronnie lived in Sylvester, at first, moving to Tifton in 1962, in connection with his work as a rural mail carrier. Jackie worked at ABAC in the bookkeeping department and, eventually, retired from there.
Jackie and Ronnie had 45 good years until he died 25 years ago with an unexpected heart condition. Then, his best friend, John Lindsey, lost his sweetheart, Ivylyn, and John and Jackie married, sharing more than 10 years together. Jackie and John embraced one another’s children and grandchildren, and the families shared several fun-filled holidays together in the north Georgia mountains and in Tifton.
What her children and grandchildren remember about her is how welcome she made them feel in her home (she called it “wall-to-wall love”); how she sang as she did whatever task was at hand; her pleasure in seeing friends and family enjoy a meal she had prepared; and the jokes and funny stories she used to tell, as they hung around the dining table, long after the meal was over.
Though Jackie had her share of hardships, she purposed to be cheerful. She stayed grateful for the blessings and trusted God to make things right. She and Ronnie, and then she and John, enjoyed their participation in the First Baptist Church of Tifton and, later, the Gideons, as well. Hers was a life well lived, rich in laughter, kindness and generosity.
Jackie is survived by her children, Ronald Green Bateman, Jr. (Melinda) of St. Simons Island, Judy Bateman Shepura (Brian O’Brien) of Birmingham, Alabama and John Wainwright Bateman (Lynn) of Greenville, South Carolina; eight grandchildren, Ken Bateman, Alan Bateman, Audrey Bateman Laney, Nathan Shepura, Lowell Shepura, Caroline Bateman Dalton, Andrew Bateman and Sarah Bateman Middleton; and ten great-grandchildren, as well as the Lindsey family, Linda Lindsey Blitch (Buddy), Darrell Lindsey (Ruthann) and Cheryl Lezcano (Jorge); four grandchildren, Jennifer Osborne, Derrick Blitch, Ryan Lezcano and Michael Lezcano; and seven great-grandchildren.
Memorial gifts may be sent to Gideons International, Tifton Camp, P. O. Box 7051, Tifton, GA 31793; of the First Baptist Church of Tifton, 404 Love Avenue, Tifton, GA 31794.