Jeannene Hughes Courtney

Memorial services for Jeannene Hughes Courtney, 90, of Lufkin will be held Saturday, August 16, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. at First Baptist Church Lufkin with Reverend Mark A. Newton and Reverend Walker McWilliams officiating. A visitation will follow in the Reich Chandler Great Hall. A private burial will be held in Garden of Memories Memorial Park.

Mrs. Courtney was born March 24, 1935 at home in Groveton, Texas to the late Orion Currie Hughes and Frances Louise Garrison Hughes, and died Saturday, August 9, 2025 in a Houston hospital.

Four years after Jeannene was born, she was joined by her brother, Jon Allen Hughes. The Hughes family moved to Lufkin when Jeannene was in the 9th grade and she graduated from Lufkin High School in 1953. She married Newt Courtney on September 3, 1954, reaching almost 71 years of marriage.

Jeannene worked at Lufkin Foundry, and during the 1960’s, operated Lufkin Bar-B-Q alongside her mother-in-law, Jeffie Courtney, and sister-in-law, Gail Courtney. While her children were in school, she attended Stephen F. Austin State University, earning both her Bachelor of Science and Master’s degrees in Education, with a concentration in Reading. She went on to teach second grade at Redland, Kurth, and Garrett Elementary Schools until her retirement, finding great joy in teaching and encouraging her students.

A lifelong learner and voracious reader, Jeannene also enjoyed quilting, sewing, and researching her family’s genealogy. In her later years, she took up water aerobics and continued participating until the age of 85. She was an active member of First Baptist Church and cherished time spent with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Her priority was always her family. Her calm presence and quick wit were a steady source of comfort and confidence.

Survivors include her husband, Newt Courtney; daughter, Cheryl Courtney Hearne and David; son, Chad Courtney and Vicky; five grandchildren, Grant Courtney and Emily, Matt Courtney and Lindsey, Ann Hand and Brian, Trey Hearne and Kylie, and Courtney Eskew and Scott; nine great-grandchildren, Ada, Caroline, Madison, Haddie, Sadie, Will, Emma, Remi, and Ivy; and one niece, Lynn Courtney and husband Barry Bryan.

She was preceded in death by parents, Orion and Louise Hughes; brother, Jon Hughes; and brother-in-law and sister-in-law, John and Gail Courtney.

Memorial contributions may be made to First Baptist Church Lufkin, 106 E. Bremond Avenue, Lufkin, Texas 75901 or the American Cancer Society, 212 Gene Samford Drive, Lufkin, Texas 75904.

Memories and condolences may be added at www.carrowayfuneralhome.com.

Carroway Funeral Home, Lufkin, directors.