Jacqueline "Rita" Howard Whitsey

Mrs. Jacqueline "Rita" Howard Whitsey, 63, of Nashville formerly of Paris died Friday, April 1, 2016, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Services will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 9, 2016, at Rawls Funeral Home Chapel. Interment will follow in Greenwood Cemetery. Visitation will begin at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the funeral home. Jacqueline Odessa Whitsey, known to family and friends as “Rita”, was born April 5, 1952, in Paris, Tennessee to the late Billy Lee and Elnora Milligan Howard. Jacqueline was a thoughtful and loving wife, mother and grandmother to her family. Jacqueline was educated in the Henry County school system. She professed her faith early in life and was a member of Allen Chapel AME Church in Paris, Tennessee. Jacqueline met and married Alfred Whitsey on May 14, 1988, in Illinois. She was the mother of two children, Kendra Paschall and Matthew Bennett. Encouraged to be all she could be, Jacqueline was a trained public transportation driver, licensed beautician and barber. She worked for Metro Action as a school bus driver for eleven years until retirement. Cherishing and preserving our memories are her loving husband of twenty-seven years, Alfred Whitsey of LaVergne, Tennessee; her children, Kendra Paschall of Nashville, Tennessee and Matthew Bennett of Antioch, Tennessee; granddaughter, Jacqueline Onuobia of Murfreesboro, Tennessee and grandson Samir Woodard-Bennett of Nashville, Tennessee; three brothers, Billy Lee (Annie) Howard of Oakland, Tennessee, Larry Odell (Francill) Howard of Harvey, Louisiana and Michael (Karen) Wells of San Diego, California; four sisters, Betty Joe Tharpe of Smyrna, Tennessee, Thressa Williams of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Gloria (Richard) Thomas of Paris, Tennessee and Melissa (Joe) Hyde of Antioch, Tennessee; two aunts, Jacqueline (Tenny) Tharpe and Cordia (Penny) Freeman, both of Paris, Tennessee; nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Billy Lee and Elnora Howard, Sr. and two brothers, Christopher David Howard and Robert Ford Howard. Rawls Funeral Home - Paris 731-642-1515