Ann McGhee is the mother of Rob McGhee '91. Please keep the family in your thoughts and prayers.
Hattie Ann Keenum McGhee Hattie Ann (Keenum) McGhee was born into great love and great poverty in Booneville, Mississippi on September 10, 1937. She died in Argyle, Texas, at Mary and Shannon's house, surrounded by deeply loved ones, Friday October 29, 2021. In between, she touched countless lives with her humor, her miraculous feats of cooking, and her Love.
She was born to Claude and Sybil (Jumper) Keenum, loving parents, tenant farmers, people who deserve an even stronger descriptor than "hardworking." Like them, Hattie Ann was tough as iron, holding her own among five brothers and a sister. She liked to sit in a specially-loved tree and wave at the few cars that passed by. She briefly had a flying squirrel as a pet, until it bit her. She regularly woke up at 4am to go fishing with her dad, whom she adored.
She played basketball in high school, excelled in school, and was crowned Miss Jumpertown. She went to Delta State University, earning a degree in Elementary Education, and began a career as a teacher. She was, by all accounts, a truly great teacher and well-loved by her students. Somewhere in there, she met Jim McGhee, who sported a flattop and eyes that twinkled with mischief. They married when Ann was 19 and Jim was 18, and they would be together for life (and eternity). They raised three children, with all of the difficulty and sacrifice and beauty that entails. They taught their children to Love. But, really, they showed them. In her final days of life on earth, she said, about Jim and her, "We were a pair." About raising kids, she said, "We had fun." That was her way: beautiful, simple, profound.
She was a talented artist. But few people knew this. They just knew that she turned her house into a living work of art once a month, to party with all of the parishioners celebrating a birthday that month. She was a wonderful teacher, but you might not have known that, unless you were in her Catechesis class. She had an amazing sense of humor, but she didn't seek the spotlight. If you spent time with her, you simply laughed a lot and saw her laughing - a lot. She was natural, and humble, and real.
When Jim was called to the Methodist ministry, she was beside him. When he became an Episcopal priest, she was at his side. When he became a Catholic priest, she was shoulder to shoulder with him. How could it be any other way? They were a unit, a melding of souls, "a pair."
Over the course of their shared ministry, they encountered so many people, so many souls – in Mississippi and Texas, in every phase of life, of every age and stripe and attitude and situation. And they Loved them all. Genuinely and unconditionally. Like Jesus said to. And the seeds of true Love that they planted in the hearts and souls and lives of so many blossom to this day and will continue to grow and produce fruit beyond what we can see with our limited, human eyes.
Ann McGhee was a living saint who loved lowbrow humor. She was equally comfortable in a church dress or jeans. She got down on the floor and played with children. She was silly, deep, incredibly smart, and warm. She was exceedingly down to earth, but she could rock a rhinestone dress and costume jewelry, with her unique style and grace.
Unsurprisingly, she thrived in the role of "Maw Maw," fiercely loving her eight grandchildren through her words and her actions. She hung on to life for a while, to have more time with them. And she hung on long enough to meet, and fall instantly in love with, her first great-grandchild.
Hattie Ann McGhee was the most Christ-like person many of us have ever met. She would deny this, but there is no compliment more deserved and none that she would rather aspire to. She was an utterly lovely human being, the best of us. We will miss her deeply. But we know she is with God, with the multitude of family and friends who have gone before her, and with Jim, her soulmate.
She was preceded in death by Fr. Jim McGhee; her parents, Claude and Sybil Keenum; her siblings and in-laws: Hollis (Faye), Keith, Jean, and Billie; her niece, Lisa, and her nephew, Kermit, Jr. She is survived by her children (biological and otherwise): Janie, Renée (Justin), Rob (Julie), and Mary (Shannon); eight grandchildren: Courtney, Bryant, Matthew, Jameson, Jeremiah, Ashley, Emily, and Cameron; a great-grandson, Easton; her brothers: Kermit, Thomas (Patsy), and Conley (Sue); her sister-in-law, Norma; and a whole host of beloved relatives and friends.
Rosary and Visitation will be at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Keller, Texas, on Thursday November 4, at 7:30pm.
The funeral mass will be held at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Keller, Texas, on Friday November 5 (Fr. Jim's Birthday) at 1:30pm. Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas |