Jo Britnell

A service of celebration for the life of Jo Britnell will be held Saturday, March 10, 2018 at noon at First United Methodist Church, Cookeville, Tennessee. Rev. Drew Shelley and Dr. Martin Thielen will be officiating. Visitation will be at the church in Jeff Wall Hall following the service. Jo loved life and lived it to the fullest until her final day on Friday, March 2, 2018. She was born on March 10, 1929 in Bolivar, Tennessee, to Sarah Hazelgrove Neely and John Olion Neely. She grew up in the small town of Middleton, Tennessee, where she had a happy childhood, free to ride her pony, pick cotton with the neighborhood children, attend the local elementary school and learn to play basketball. At Middleton High School, she became a star player and developed her love of all sports, which she enjoyed throughout her life. She was a leader in the classroom as well as sports. She was editor of the first yearbook ever published at the school, planned and helped raise the money for the first senior class trip of MHS, and graduated as valedictorian of her class in 1947. She attended the University of Tennessee at Martin, was named Outstanding Student in the School of Education, and later graduated with honors from Tennessee Tech University in 1959. She married Frank Britnell on December 29, 1949. They had two children, Beverly and Richard, while living in West Point, Mississippi. The family moved to Cookeville in 1956 when Frank took a job with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, working at Center Hill Dam. Jo became an active member of the First Methodist Church and was quickly involved as an MYF leader. She helped organize the first Teen Town for the city of Cookeville, serving as Vice Chair of the board. She also served as president of the Cookeville Jaycettes, Capshaw PTA, and the Cookeville Clean Commission. She and Frank worked to establish the American Flag Display on the medians of South Jefferson Avenue. Her work with Girl Scouts began during her college years, working as a camp counselor at Camp Shelby Forest, near Memphis. Her love of scouting became a big part of her life in Cookeville where she worked as Day Camp and Resident Camp director for the Highland Rim Girl Scout Council, and later as a Field Director and Trainer for Middle Tennessee Girl Scout Council. When her daughter reached scout age, Jo became the leader of troop 212 in Cookeville and led twenty-four girls on many exciting and fun adventures. Jo's first teaching job was in Bolivar, Tennessee in 1949. She resumed her teaching career at Cookeville Junior High School for a year and continued at Lebanon Junior High School after moving to Lebanon in 1967. She then became one of only two women teachers at Castle Heights Military Academy Junior School where she taught for five years and was the mother figure for many young cadets away from home. Her work as a Tour Director began in 1975 while living in Falls Church, Virginia. She completed a course to become a Tour Guide of Washington, D.C., and began working with Washington Guide Service, helping hundreds of school children and foreign visitors see the sights of the nation's capital. She returned to Cookeville in 1980 after Frank retired, and she began work with Carefree Motorcoach Tours in Nashville. She logged over a million happy miles conducting tours of America and many foreign countries with hundreds of new friends who traveled with her. Her love of camping and travel took her to all fifty states and sixty-nine countries. She continued to use her experience to help friends and groups plan trips and agendas for many years. When Jo and Frank moved to Heritage Pointe Senior Living in 2007, she conducted tours of the facility and helped residents become acclimated to a new style of life in their senior years. She enjoyed her retirement at Heritage Pointe very much with many new friends there. She led armchair travelogues, served as president of the Residents Council and was affectionately called the Mayor of Heritage Pointe. During this time she continued working as a volunteer at the Highlands Visitor Center, Cookeville Regional Medical Center, and Meals on Wheels. She is preceded in death by her husband of 63 years, William Franklin Britnell. She is survived by a brother and sister-in-law, John William Neely Sr. and Jane Simpson Neely of Middleton; a daughter, Beverly Britnell Tesseneer (Ralph) of Spartanburg, South Carolina, and a son, Richard Neely Britnell (Angela) of Franklin; five grandchildren: John Athen Tesseneer of Spartanburg, South Carolina, Neely Tesseneer Benton (Bradley) of Moorhead, Minnesota, Stephen Andrew Britnell (Brittany) of Joelton, David James Britnell of Louisville, Colorado, and Mark Trelawney Britnell (Julie) of Murfreesboro; and five great-grandchildren: Thomas Athen Benton, John William Benton, Andrew McLeod Benton, Franklin Trelawney Britnell, and Jemma Jacqueline Britnell; numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and the girls of Troop 212. Jo donated her body to the University of Tennessee Science and Research Center in Memphis. The family requests, in lieu of flowers, that memorials be made to the Wesley Foundation at Tennessee Tech, 271 E. Ninth Street, Cookeville, Tennessee 38501. Hooper-Huddleston & Horner Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements (931)526-6111. You may share your thoughts and memories at hhhfunerals.com