Juanita Frances Tate McNeal

Home going services for Mrs. Juanita Frances Tate McNeal will be held at 10:00 am on Friday, March 04, 2016 at the New Life Evangelism Center United Pentecostal Church 4810 University Parkway in Natchitoches, LA with Rev. Dennis Bjorngberg, Rev. Matthew Pagels, Rev. Rodney Boswell, Rev. Kevin Cox, and Sen. Gerald and Rose Long officiating. Burial will follow the service at Hickory Grove Cemetery in Robeline, LA. The family will receive friends for visitation on Thursday, March 03, 2016 at the church from 5:00 pm until 9:00 pm. Juanita was born on November 08, 1927 in Anniston, AL. She passed from this life in the presence of her family on March, 01, 2016 at her home in Hagewood, LA. The wisest man asked a question. “Who can find a virtuous woman?” If he had lived long enough, he would have had a chance to meet Juanita Tate McNeal. Not just “a” virtuous woman, but “The” virtuous woman. She embodied Proverbs 31. A selfless, giving, caring, kind, compassionate, and generous woman, no greater could anyone find. She loved one man her entire life. She raised three children to the best of her ability, both without any complaints. Then the grandchildren started arriving, and to work she went becoming the greatest grandmother anyone could ask for. She cooked, she cleaned, she sewed; all to provide a home and environment conducive to love and happiness for her family. She never went to bed without everything being in its place and clean. To say she loved and was devoted to her relationship with Christ is a drastic understatement. She spent the majority of her adult life as a pastor’s wife and Sunday school teacher, and was a dedicated servant to those they pastored. She read her Bible every single day. Even in her last days when she wasn’t able, she enjoyed it being read to her, as it gave her great peace listening to the scriptures. She wasn’t just a mother to her immediate family, but to many more children that she was able to babysit and keep for others, some of which became as close as family. She also worked in her earlier years as a sales lady for Tupperware for almost ten years, winning two different cars for her hard work; she was a beautician for a time; and as a CNA in the labor and delivery unit at Natchitoches Hospital. She loved her church and pastor, New Life Evangelism Center and Rev. Dennis Bjornberg, who always treated her as family themselves. She made and sold peanut brittle in order to raise money for the church for many years; a project that will be continued on in her memory. She worked tirelessly at the church and at home doing whatever needed to be done. She truly had a servant’s heart. She left a lifetime of memories and life lessons that will never be forgotten, and a legacy that can never be duplicated. If you had the privilege to know her, you were blessed. But for those who knew her as wife, mom, Maw Maw, sister, or aunt cannot begin to speak of the joys they had with her. Be at peace Momma, we love you. She was preceded in death by her husband of 67 years, Rev. J.D. McNeal; her parents, Linnie O. Kennerly Tate and Virgil E. Tate; and her brothers, Lawrence Tate, Harold Tate, and Thomas Tate. She is survived by her three children, Patricia Dianne McNeal Weeks and her husband Billy, Emily Elaine McNeal Sparks and husband John, and Jerry Allen McNeal and wife Catherine, all of Natchitoches, LA; six grandchildren, Jennifer Sparks and her fiancé Shannon Dyess, Mollie Sparks, Katie Sparks Lindsey and husband Man, Jason Edwards and wife Amy, Leah Weeks Pagels and husband Matthew, and Rachel McNeal Jordan and husband Jerry; eight great grandchildren, Hannah Boswell, Haleigh Boswell, Caden Edwards, Kidron Pagels, Keith Jordan, Cara Jordan, Khloe Crochet, and Cainan James Pagels; her sister, Mary Birdwell of Marthaville, LA; her sister-in-law, Mary “Dossie” Harralson of Morgan City, LA as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and friends. Those honored to be pallbearers will be Man Lindsey, John Sparks, Billy Weeks, Jason Edwards, Stephen Chanler, and Jerry Jordan. Honorary pallbearers will be Rodney Boswell, Shannon Dyess, Kendall Perkins, Brian Hester, Ralph Dowden, D.D. Lee, Mike Edwards, Kaden Edwards, Keith Jordan, and Cainan James Pagels. The family asks that any charitable contributions be made to the New Life U.P.C. building fund.