Obituary of Jimmie L. Pearson

Jimmie L. Pearson, mother of Terri Neuzil, of Iowa City, and formerly of Ottumwa, died Wednesday, May 23, 2012, at the Iowa City Care and Rehab Center at the age of 86. There will be a period of visitation from 2 to 6 p.m., Tuesday at the Reece Funeral Home in Ottumwa, Iowa, with a private family service at the Greenwood Cemetery in Muscatine on Wednesday. A memorial fund has been established in Jimmie's memory, and online condolences may be sent for her family through the web @ www.gayandciha.com. Jimmie L. Henderson was born April 18, 1926, in Athens, Alabama, the daughter of James L. and Willie Pearl (Kent) Henderson. She graduated from Murray High School, Murray, KY in 1944. Between her senior year in high school and before she enrolled in college at Auburn University, she worked in the office administration of the company that developed the atomic bomb in Oak Ridge, TN. Following the end of the war, she received a commendation letter from President Truman for her contribution to the war effort and the ultimate ending of WWII. She went on to attend and graduate from Auburn University in 1949, with a degree in nutrition and foods and became a registered dietician. In the year of 1952, she was united in marriage to Richard Fritz Pearson of Muscatine, Iowa. The couple moved to Iowa City so that Richard could attend medical school here. He was killed in an automobile accident on August 9, 1956, 11 months following the birth of their daughter, Terri. Jimmie found work at the Ottumwa Hospital as the dietician and then became director of food services, a position that she held for many years until her retirement in 1986. While in her position there, she belonged to numerous professional and local civic groups and organizations. Jimmie enjoyed life and lived it to its fullest; she like tending her gardens, going fishing, watching car races, reading, doing needlework, knitting, crocheting, painting on canvas, and in her day was a licensed pilot! But most of all, she was always Mother first; Terri was the center of Jimmie's world, and nothing ever got in the way of this. Her family includes her daughter and son-in-law, Terri and Gary Neuzil of Iowa City; brother and sister-in-law, Thomas and Gerri Henderson of Broken Arrow, OK; niece and family, Julianne and Jim Schroeder and their children, Brooke and Austin; sister-in-law, Betty Johnson; nephews and nieces, Bob Pearson, John Pearson, Jerry Pearson; Christine Masterson and her son, Richard; Patti Pearson, Janet Graham and her husband, Randy. She was preceded in death by her parents, and husband, Richard. Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service is caring for Jimmie's family and her services.