Flora Jakeman

Biography

Flora Agnes Bandy Jakeman, 89, died October 27, 2011, at Heritage Health Care Center in Tallahassee, Florida.

She was born May 29, 1922, to Kate Owen and Neal Jefferson Bandy on their farm in Warren County, Kentucky, the youngest of four siblings. She is survived by Robert M. "Bob" Jakeman, her loving husband for more than 66 years.

After graduating from Woodburn High School in Woodburn, Kentucky, in 1940, Agnes attended Bowling Green Business University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. In 1943 she began working for the DuPont Company's administrative offices in Old Hickory, Tennessee.

While in Old Hickory Agnes met Bob, her future husband, who was serving in the Army Air Forces and stationed in nearby Nashville. They married in St. Louis, Missouri, on Christmas Eve, 1944. After Bob was discharged from service following World War II, the couple lived in Old Hickory and briefly in North Carolina before moving to Tampa, Florida, in 1952 where they lived for more than 50 years. While in Tampa, Agnes wore many hats - wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, homemaker, seamstress, Sunday school teacher, and church volunteer. In 2004 Agnes and Bob moved to Havana, Florida, and in 2008 to Tallahassee.

Agnes touched the lives of many people with her kind smile, warm hugs, selfless service, and devotion to the Lord. A long-time member of Lake Carroll Baptist Church in Tampa, she was active for many years in the Women's Missionary Union (WMU). She frequently held WMU leadership positions at Lake Carroll Baptist and also worked to promote the annual Lottie Moon Christmas offering on behalf of Baptist missions. As a life-long Baptist she took special pride in the election of Jimmy Carter to the presidency, and was delighted to attend President Carter's Sunday school class in Plains, Georgia, in 2006 and be photographed with him.

Possessing an excellent memory, a delightful sense of humor and a gift for story telling, Agnes blessed her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren over the years with colorful stories about her family. An avid game-player, she never passed up an opportunity to play Yahtzee, Uno or Rook with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Agnes loved birthdays and was not bashful about making her own birthday celebration last as long as possible, from "Derby Day to D-Day," as Bob often teased her. And, as she aged gracefully, her blue eyes seemed to sparkle all the more.

She showered love on her family by preparing delicious food, including her unmatched signature dishes: macaroni-and-cheese, chicken salad, lemon meringue pie, chocolate chess pie, and standing rib roast. Agnes had a close circle of friends throughout her life, and was an early and enthusiastic member of the Red Hat Society in Tampa.

In addition to her husband, Agnes is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Jeff and Carol Jakeman of Auburn, Ala.; son and daughter-in-law Rex and Leslie Jakeman of Colorado Springs, Colo.; daughter and son-in-law Cynthia and Graham Nicol of Tallahassee; six grandchildren, Katie (Mike) McMullen of Birmingham, Ala., Melissa (Ted) Mitchell of Gastonia, N.C., John (Michelle) Jakeman of Pueblo, Colo., Savannah Nicol of Tallahassee, Aimee and Ben Jakeman, both of Colorado Springs; and five great-grandchildren, Meg and Audrey Grace Mitchell, Emma and Anna Claire McMullen, and Cathrina Jakeman. She is also survived by a nephew and a niece, Gene Barton of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., and Tina VonGonten of Miami, Fla.

Agnes is preceded in death by her father (1949), mother (1962), brother, Neal Jefferson Bandy, Jr. (1944), and her half brother and sister, Don Freeman (1978) and Edith Stubblefield (1990).


"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die." Thomas Campbell, Hallowed Ground

Funeral Service

Tuesday November 1, 2011, 4 pm at First Baptist Church of Havana
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Visitation

Tuesday November 1, 2011, 3 to 4:00 pm at First Baptist Church of Havana
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