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Dedicated To Ann Juanita McLean

Dedication

These pages are dedicated in memory of Ann Juanita McLean (1926-1995) whom we lovingly called " Miss Neat" or "Aunt Neat". To write a brief summary of Juanita's life which exemplifies her in a few paragraphs it is probably best to borrow words from The Reverend Otis Moss of Cleveland, Ohio, who preached a brief sermon at the funeral of Mrs. Martin Luther King, about "the little dash in between". In his talk, he said there would be a marker on Mrs.King's grave with two dates-- when she was born and when she died-- and a little dash in between. He did not want to talk about when she was born or when she died, he said, but about that little dash. What do we do, he asked, with that dash which represents our lives on earth? This dedicated page,then,is about that "little dash" which represents sixty-nine years of dedicated service given to the betterment of this earth by Juanita. Unfortunately, it too, will have to be too brief.
Juanita a graduate from Fayetteville State College in 1947 with a B.A in Teacher Education. She extended her education, concentrating in Special Education and taught for 35 years in the public schools of Moore County, NC, beginning in a two-room school close to the Eureka Community farmsite where Billy Blue was a slave at least four generations before. Her teaching career ended with her teaching Special Education in another school somewhat larger but also not too far from the same farm site.
Juanita was said to be "handicapped". Some people who contracted polio at a young age, as did Juanita, felt the classification appropriate and even used it to get special treatment. Not so with "Miss Neat." It was her misfortune to suffer three major diseases in her lifetime. She even beat two of them, Polio and heart disease( by-pass surgery) but she lost to leukemia. She never allowed herself to receive anything with a handicap tag, except to park her car and this only when her legs began to fail her shortly after her retirement. She asked no quarter in her daily life and gave none, especially when she played Scrabble or kidded with family about who was the best Scrabble player. There was no quit in her. If she had to give an "Indian arm burn" or pinch with those vice-grip fingers she would, to make her point. She was tough when illnesses came and she fought to overcome them with all she had. Yet, she was gentle and kind when it was necessary to help others.
Helping others became a way of life for Juanita. Every relative, friend, acquaintance or community member that she knew was a beneficiary of her generosity, her love, her financial support,her words of encouragement or her willingness to run an errand for them. One of her former students named her "The Driver Of them Little Ol Ladies", and indeed she was. Usually on the first of the month when "the Eagle Flew"(For the uninitiated, read "when the retirement and social security checks arrived")she dutifully drove three or four older women to town to pay their bills or to shop. "Driving Miss Daisies" as someone put it.
Her sense of humor was legend. She loved to laugh and to play games. She even enjoyed the family's playful "put-downs" on her ability to play Scrabble. We accused her of cheating and recorded her joyful defense of herself on videotape.( Even her own mother, joining the fun, testified that she saw Juanita "going wrong" at an early age). It was a happy time, and just one of her many memorable fun times with the family.
Her talents, other than mastering Scrabble, can be seen in her greatest love-quilting. She made a hand-stitched quilt for every family member and for several others who asked. She asked for nothing in return, not even for cost of materials.
In her last days, she thought only of her family, making special bequeaths to each of them, not money in any magnitude, but keepsakes which were a part of her. We all rallied around her and helped her find the Blessed Peace which she sought. Those whom you see in these pages and those who will be part a of these pages, owe part of their success to her. God rest her soul! We loved her then, we love her still and we Always will!

1926-1995 That little dash in between is love and it was filled with so much of what Juanita Blue McLean's life exemplified. The poem below says it best.

LOVE IS...**
It is sharing and caring,
Giving and forgiving, Loving and being loved,
Walking hand in hand, Talking heart to heart,
Seeing through each other's eyes, Laughing together,
Weeping together, Praying together,
And always trusting And believing
And thanking God For each other...
For love that is shared is a beautiful thing-
It enriches the soul And Makes the heart sing!

Found in Juanita's personal journal. Author Unlisted

Paraphrased from Former President Jimmy Carter's Book, Living Faith-Ch:Abundant Life-It's a good read