Geneva Leanna Cooksey McKinney

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Mrs. Geneva Leanna Cooksey McKinney, 89, of Gosnell, the widow of Silas Edward McKinney, died Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013, at the Great River Medical Center in Blytheville. Born at Selmer, Tenn., she was the daughter of the late Everette Christopher and Francis Louisa Flatt Cooksey and had been a Blytheville area resident since 1959.

The daughter of a sharecropper, she worked in the cotton fields and never attended school. She didn't learn to read until 1959 when she prayed for a miracle that God would let her learn to read the Bible. She not only learned to read but was able to quote scripture. She was loved and admired by her family and many friends.

In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by three grandchildren, Scotty England, Jackie Koonce and Tommy McKinney; one brother, Elmer Cooksey; three sisters, Rheba Dill, Mary Cooksey and Evalene Cooksey; and a son-in-law, Teddy England.

Survivors include, four sons, Charles McKinney and his wife, Hazel, of Gosnell, Jerry McKinney and his wife, Lilly, of Jonesboro, Eddie McKinney of Blytheville, and Donnie McKinney and his wife, Sharon, of Paragould;

Four daughters, Lisa Bougher and her husband, Richard, of Smyrna, Tenn., Shirley Wright and her husband, Roy, of Gosnell, Brenda Humble and her husband, Frankie, of Blytheville, and Jannette Taylor and her husband, Mark, of Dell;

One sister, Louise Easley of Monroe, La.; and

Twenty-two grandchildren, 34 great-grandchildren, and six great-great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 1p.m. Tuesday at the Howard Funeral Service Chapel in Manila with the Rev. Bobby McDaniels officiating. Burial will follow in Dogwood Cemetery in Blytheville. The family will receive visitors from 6-8 p.m. Monday at the funeral home. Guests may register at www.HowardFuneralService.com