Willodean Rogers McNeely
Our mother, Willodean Rogers McNeely, departed this life on Oct. 5 at NHC Oak Ridge.
She was born July 26, 1923, in Graves County, Ky., to Maggie and Ira Atwell Rogers. She was raised there on a farm with numerous brothers and sisters.
She met and ultimately married her high school sweetheart, Billy Joe McNeely. Their marriage lasted almost 70 years and produced two sons, Joe and his wife Patsy of Oak Ridge, and Mike and his wife Teresa of Kingston.
She also leaves three grandsons, Michael, Matthews, and Brett, and adored great-grandchildren, Harleigh, Noah, Cora, and Andrew.
She and her husband came to Oak Ridge in 1943. Willodean was a longtime member of New York Avenue Church of Christ, where she became close friends with Opal, Kathleen, and Midge.
