Geneva Bledsoe Dies at Age 100

McKENZIE — Earlier this year, many celebrated the life and career of Geneva Bledsoe as she turned 100 on Tuesday, February 20. On Monday, the long-time teacher at Webb School and McKenzie Elementary, died. Funeral arrangements are not yet available. The Banner will publish it as soon as details are available.

This is a repeat of the February 2024 story about Mrs. Bledsoe.

Geneva Bledsoe had the best career and many precious memories of the many students she taught.

The official birthday was Tuesday, February 20, but the celebration continued as cards, e-mails, and flowers continued to arrive in celebration of Mrs. Bledsoe. The goal was 100 cards for her 100th birthday. In February, her daughter, Jennifer said the cards, letters, texts, and flowers keep coming.

Geneva Bledsoe grew up in Haywood County as one of 13 children. Each child worked around the house or in the fields of the farm, where they worked as a sharecropping family; the young children went to a one-room school with grades 1-8 near Brownsville. The five girls had room and board near the school, but the eight boys had to walk five miles to and from the school. The boys had chores around the farm. While the walk was long, the boys were timely for their school arrival.

Jennifer Bledsoe was thrilled to tell her mother’s story of challenges and triumph and the influence her mother had on so many children.

Jennifer enjoys driving her mom around and meeting people. When she is out driving, people ask her about her mother. She enjoys telling them, “Ask her; she is sitting right here.”

Geneva graduated high school and then attended Lane College in Jackson. After just one year of college, Geneva started teaching and returned to Lane to finish her college education. She taught at a little school known as Prospect, beginning in 1946.

It was Lane where she met her future husband, L.C. Bledsoe, who was also pursuing a career in education.

He graduated Lane in 1950, and she graduated in 1951.

Webb School, a Rosenwald school for African Americans located in McKenzie, was the alma mater of L.C. After the two married, Geneva taught Special Education at Webb School until 1966, when Webb closed and the African American students all transferred to other public schools in McKenzie, Huntingdon, Trezevant, Atwood, Clarksburg and Hollow Rock-Bruceton.

He later became the principal at Trezevant High School. The couple had two children, Jennifer and her older sister, Melba Tucker. L.C. died in 1985.

Mrs. Bledsoe transitioned to McKenzie Elementary School, where she taught fourth grade English. In the summers, she taught at Head Start in McKenzie and art throughout the county. Her first class of fourth graders was the 1975 graduating class.

She taught at McKenzie until 1992 when she retired. Her work continued at her local CME church and around her house.

Jennifer said her mother loved teaching and certainly loved her students. Each time a student gave her a gift, she kept a written record of the student and the gift. And, through the years, she has enjoyed seeing her students and chatting with them.

She was honored by her fellow retired teachers in 2019 and again at McKenzie Middle School in 2020, close to her 96th birthday. On that day at MMS, the students showed their appreciation to Mrs. Bledsoe and to Odell Pate, the oldest living black WWII veteran, who also attended the event. Both Mrs. Bledsoe and Mr. Pate are now deceased.

One of Bledsoe’s elementary students at MES was Dorethea Royle, principal at McKenzie Middle School. During the 2019 event at MMS, Bledsoe was joined by her students, who were teachers or staffers at MMS at that time. Those were Principal Dorethea Royle, teachers Paul Carroll, Bledsoe and Mistee Cooper, school nurse Vera Shipp, teacher Bess Toombs, school secretary Karen Moore, teacher Gretchen Boucher, guidance counselor Lori Robertson and teacher Rebecca Jones. The group presented a bouquet of roses to Mrs. Bledsoe.

A celebration of her birthday and her accomplishments was held at her church on Sunday, February 25.