To My Bestest Girlfriend, Sister, Mother, and Drill Sergeant, All In One.....

After 21 years as a journalist, I finally understand why most people are so willing to talk to reporters after the death of a loved one. It's your last chance to publicly acknowledge how special he or she was. So allow me to share a bit about the FABULOUS Julie Ann Marie (Jones) Newell:

Julie A. Newell of Cairo, Illinois, passed away Friday evening, October 19, 2007, at her home following a long series of illnesses. She was 57.

Julie was born in Cairo on August 17, 1950, the third of ten children, to the late Lewis Jones and Eloise (Blocker) Jones. Julie attended Cairo Public Schools, graduating from Cairo High School in 1968.

Julie worked 37 years for the Cairo Public Schools as a secretary/bookkeeper - 26 years at Cairo High School, 6 years at Emerson Elementary, and 5 years at the District Administrative Office. During her employment with the Cairo Public Schools, Julie was a union activist, serving as the founding president of the Cairo Association of Educational Support Professionals. In addition to her union activities on the local level, Julie served on a variety of committees for the Illinois Education Association and the National Education Association.

In November, 1999, Julie made history by becoming the first African-American to be elected to the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund. Following that achievement, Julie was elected and re-elected to the Board of Directors of the Illinois Education Association, serving two terms, declining a third term when she opted for early retirement in June 2006.

In addition to her parents, Julie was preceded in death by a daughter, Christie Ann, and her oldest brother, David. Julie is survived by her husband, Ron. Also surviving her are four brothers – John of Cairo, Peter of Washington, DC, Fred (and wife Connie) of Mound City, and Reuben of Hawaii; four sisters – Sarah of Alameda, CA, Marilyn (Mrs. John McGhee) of Atlanta, GA, Rachel of Washington, DC, and Rebecca (Mrs. Chris Ulrich) of Alameda, CA; two nephews, Derek Jones of Cape Girardeau, and James Stewart-Jones of Bend, OR, a niece, Kelly Jones of Mound City; and one grandniece, Talia Jones of Mound City.

Okay, that's the formal stuff. Here's the 411 that really matters--girlfriend could fry up a yard-bird so lip-smacking delicious it'd make you slap your grandma! She and Ron also perfected the most perfect process for barbecuing ribs ever known...the meat just fell off the bones, and her homemade sauce was unparalelled. 4 years ago, Julie remodeled her kitchen, turning it into something straight out of House Beautiful. And sister could burn; she's one of the best cooks I ever knew, and taught me so much about the essential ingredient in every dish: love.

Julie was always meticulously dressed and made up in public, although she really only needed a little blush and lipgloss. Anybody who ever met her commented on how smooth and flawless her skin was. She could have easily passed for late 30's, early 40's. She loved black and silver, and looked stunning in it. And Julie always had to wear heels; even when lupus had degenerated all of her joints so badly she could barely walk, Julie had to have her flashy heels.

She had a riotous laugh...long and loud. Julie never lost her sense of childish fun; she was ready for any kind of hijinks at a moment's notice, and then she'd look at you with those big Blocker eyes blinking all innocent like, and coo, "What's the matter?" She had that wicked, patented Jones sense of humor; she could lacerate you with her tongue, but leave you laughing so hard your stomach hurt.

Julie was the epitome of nurturance. I've already told you that she helped raise me and my other sisters, but Julie took nurturing to a whole 'nutha level. Even after she married and moved away (about 10 blocks away, but still.....) she always kept us under her wing. Every day, she'd herd us up at lunch time from our various schools and bring us over to her house for lunch. That way, she knew we were getting at least ONE good meal a day. But she often fed us dinner, too. And we spent a lot of time at her house on weekends, and never once did Ron say, "Enough, already!"

You see, Julie felt we NEEDED her. And we did, for a lot of reasons. But nobody ever gave as much for so long to so many people as Julie did. She lived to help people. But most of all, she LIVED, every second that life had to offer her, and she lived the hell out of it.

Brava, dear Julie.