Jessie Nowell left this mortal life on October 29, 2007 in her home of more than 40 years, in Shannondale, WV. Cared for by her son and with able assistance of the Hospice of the Panhandle, Jessie slipped peacefully away, the result of natural causes. In her later years Jessie set several goals for her passing. She wished to die at home, be in the presence of someone who loved her dearly, to experience no pain and to be recognized by Willard Scott as a centenarian. She succeeded in reaching all. She was a Class act with a capital “C” from birth to death.

Jessie Bunch Nowell’s life commenced in Washington, D.C. on October 20, 1907, as the third child of John Isaac Bunch and Nellie Edith Payne. Thus began a 100 year adventure that would cover immeasurable miles and touch the lives of countless people. Jessie was born and grew up at 50 H Street NW in the shadow of the National Capitol Building in the District of Columbia with her five siblings. Her childhood was spent living above her grandfather’s printing shop and the candy and tobacco store operated by her grandmother.

During her school years she and her friends walked the blocks to school and stopped on the way home at the District of Columbia Library to check on the different magazines and books that were made available to her. This routine fostered a lifetime passion for reading, an avocation she continued through the 100th year of her life. She made it a point to read the Washington Post and two local papers each morning and saved a mammoth stack of articles of interest to reread “When I find time.”

Jessie graduated from Central High School in 1924 with honors and from J. Ormond Wilson Normal School two years later in 1926. To augment family income, Jessie assumed a job with the telephone company beginning as an operator for local connections and eventually being promoted to fielding long distance calls. One famous family anecdote was her falling off her stool at the switchboard when the call was received of John Dillinger’s death in a shootout with “The Feds.” It was during that period that Jessie received an appointment to begin teaching in the DC public schools. This became the start of her 30 year career as a DC Public School educator.

In 1928, on a blind date arranged by a friend, she met a young man from Lawton, Oklahoma who had just arrived in Washington to work at the State Department. Willis Elbert Nowell and Jessie eloped to Charles Town in Jefferson County, WV on February 15, 1930 (thirty four years later they would move to Jefferson County as retirees and live out the remainder of their lives). Jessie continued teaching at the Amidon School and later John Quincy Adams School. Bill graduated from the Army War College and attained the rank of Colonel with degrees in accounting and law. During this time, with both on a hiatus, they traveled with Jessie’s mother in tow across country visiting relatives and acquaintances along the way.

The young couple soon moved to the Brockwood Subdivision in Arlington, Virginia. While raising her eldest sister Edith’s child, Marlean Padgett, and after a tragic miscarriage and an infant’s death, they were successful in beginning a family of their own. In 1964 the family moved to their vacation home in Shannondale WV where Jessie became active in the Women’s Club and the congregation of St. Andrew’s on-the-Mount.

A fourth generation Washingtonian, Jessie was the last of her immediate family. She was preceded in death by two brothers, Wilbert and Arthur, and three sisters, Edith, Irma and Ida. Willis, the love of her life, passed in 1976 and an infant son, barely 1 day old, Neal, also is waiting for her in Heaven. She is survived by a son Willis Elbert Nowell, Jr. Of Shannondale WV, a daughter, Elizabeth Ann Parsons of Romney WV, a beloved niece, Marlean Agnelli of Virginia Beach, three granddaughters, a grandson and two great grandsons, many nieces, nephews and her dearest friend Katharine Pagan. Words fail when endeavoring to express the void felt by her family and many friends.
Note: the photo was taken by The Blue Ridge Mountain's own betcsu when mom was 99 yrs 363 days old- close enough to 100 for gov't work.