Mrs. Jimmie Franklin Moore Lindsey, 91
Jimmie Franklin Moore Lindsey was born on March 30, 1931, in Nashville, GA. She passed peacefully on March 27, 2023, at her home in Tallahassee, FL. She was 91 years old. Her parents were Littleton Moore and Elma Brown Moore. She was raised on her parents’ farm in Chaserville, GA and attended school in Adel, GA. She had a younger brother, Bobby D. Moore, and the two of them worked on their parents’ farm when not in school during the last years of the Great Depression of the 1930’s and during World War II.
As a child in rural South Georgia, her favorite activities were going to town on Saturdays to see that week’s Hollywood movie and playing basketball in the country with her boy cousins. Years later she would regularly take her children to visit their grandparents and Uncle Bobby and his family in the Adel area. Jimmie had a happy childhood and loved her parents and brother dearly.
Jimmie attended college at the former Bessie Tift College in Forsyth, GA, where she played on the school’s basketball team. She later transferred to the University of Georgia at Athens where she graduated with a B.A. in Education in 1952. Thereafter, she taught elementary school to support her family while her husband, William Frederick Lindsey, completed medical school and his residency.
Jimmie met Fred when she caught a ride back to college with him in 1950. Fred was from nearby Lenox, GA and her first memory of him was when he arrived driving a big car with a fat cigar hanging from his mouth. That was the first step in a two-year courtship that led to their marriage in Adel on June 22, 1952. They were married for 68 years until Fred’s passing in 2020. They had five children and nine grandchildren. Jimmie’s love for Fred and her children was deep and unconditional.
Jimmie and Fred moved to Tallahassee with three children in 1959. Although Fred was a successful doctor, Jimmie was the strong matriarch of the family. She was the pillar that the rest of the family could lean on for her guidance and her presence even in the face of tragedy. She demonstrated her values to her children not by what she said, but rather in how she lived. She devoted her life to raising her children and being a supportive wife and the best mother that she could be.
Those who knew Jimmie well will remember her for her youthful zest for life. She always seemed to be tanned, athletic and well dressed, and appearing to be 20 years younger than she was. While in Tallahassee, she became a strong and competitive tennis player and remained so into her 80’s. She finally convinced Fred that building a tennis court in their backyard was sensible and she practiced endless hours perfecting her serve and backhand. She hosted many doubles groups over the years and played on tennis teams traveling outside of Tallahassee. Fred and she were part of the group of co-founders of Forestmeadows Racquet Club where she played doubles on the A team. She was a nearly daily presence at Forestmeadows for many years after it was first established. Many of her closest friendships, too many to list here, centered around tennis.
Jimmie and Fred traveled the world on several occasions with good friends and family. Her favorite places to travel were wherever her children were living. Before her daughter settled in California, they took a cross country trip together traveling through Colorado and Las Vegas, visiting old friends along the way. Many of Jimmie’s best memories, however, were of the time spent with her children at Shell Point in Wakulla County when her children were young. Fred and she were homeowners and regular visitors at Shell Point for most of their lives.
When Fred passed away three years ago, a part of Jimmie’s soul went with him. Her love for him was rivaled only by her love for her children. As Fred’s health declined, she focused nearly all her time on his care. Her surviving family will miss her every day, but she is now reunited with the love of her life and her two sons, as well as her many relatives and close friends who predeceased her. She thankfully found peace in heaven. Jimmie’s children knew they could not have asked for a better mother.
Jimmie Lindsey is survived by her three children, Fredda Lindsey Ellis (John), Robert Burton Lindsey (Angela), and David Moore Lindsey (Stephen Kantor). She was predeceased by two sons, William Scott Lindsey (Marguerite) and Dr. John Brett Lindsey (Amy), and by her granddaughter Caroline Lindsey. She is survived by eight grandchildren, Andrea Barber (Mark), Ross Ellis, Graham Ellis, Ashley Ellis, Josh Lindsey (Ashley), Madeline Mackin (Will), Fred Lindsey, and Emma Lindsey. She has three beautiful great granddaughters, Laila, Zelda, and Margaret. Jimmie is also survived by her nieces, Cheryl Moore Perry and Joanna Burton, and by her nephew, Billy Taylor. Jimmie is survived by her longtime friend and companion, Rosa Ervin.
The family extends the utmost gratitude to the loyal and endlessly working caregivers towards the end of Jimmie’s life, Joann, Shannon, Kenyette, Deshonda, Lolly, Quanteria, and many others from Visiting Angels.
The funeral was Saturday, April 8, 2023, at 10:00 AM at Faith Presbyterian Church, 2200 N. Meridian Rd, Tallahassee FL 32303, followed by a reception at Faith’s fellowship hall and a brief gravesite service at Roselawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Faith Presbyterian Church.
Rocky Bevis and Kelly Barber of Bevis Funeral Home (850-384-2193 or www.bevisfh.com) are assisting the Lindsey family with their arrangements.