Jessie Mae Veal Blair

Jessie Mae Veal Blair, age 98, passed away peacefully at home Thursday, October 29, 2020 after a brief illness. She was born on August 27, 1922, in Washington County, GA to the late Bascom M. and Essie Hodges Veal.
After graduation from Tennille High School, she joined her three oldest brothers in Palatka, FL, and with the outbreak of WW II, trained to become a switchboard operator with the Southern Bell Telephone Company, in Starke, FL. Within three years, she became the youngest Assistant Chief Operator in the North Florida District. At war’s end, she was transferred to West Palm Beach and later to Jacksonville, FL, where she met and married Lewis F. Blair in 1953.
Moving to Valdosta, she continued working at Southern Bell until the birth of their son, and later returned in 1969, retiring in 1984. A longtime member of Park Avenue Methodist Church, she was also active in the Garden Club, as a volunteer school nurse at Sallas-Mahone Elementary School, and later, with Dixie Chapter 23, Telephone Pioneers of America.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 44 years, Lewis F. Blair, originally of Jennings, FL; seven beloved brothers and sisters: Ray (Lottie) Veal, Roy Lee Veal, Clyde A. (Jeanette) Veal, of Palatka, FL, John Henry (Judy) Veal, of Guyton, GA, W. Nathan (Dorothy) Veal, of Garden City, GA, Thomas E. (Lora) Veal, of Sandersville, GA, and Emma Estelle (Reese) Sessions of Tennille, GA. She is survived by her son, Frank V. Blair of Valdosta, and by numerous nieces and nephews.
As her wish was to be cremated, a memorial service will be held in Washington County, GA, to be followed by a graveside service at McLane Riverview Memorial Gardens. Due to health considerations, the arrangements will be announced later. Condolences to the family may be conveyed online at www.mclanecares.com. Carson McLane Funeral Home.