Janell Johnson Ozborn

Janell Johnson Ozborn

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Services will be held Sunday afternoon [Dec. 6] at 3:30 p.m. at Decatur United Methodist Church for Janell Johnson Ozborn who died Dec. 3, 2020 at the age of 85. Burial follows in Decatur Cemetery.

Revs. Jake and Sarah Jo Adams-Wilson of Decatur UMC will officiate. Milling Funeral Home in Union will oversee the arrangements. Those who wish to attend can join both the service and burial or either, and the family wholeheartedly respects everyone’s personal decisions during the pandemic.

Born in rural Neshoba County in 1935, Janell attended and graduated from the Coldwater Community School. She then enrolled at East Central Community College in Decatur and while there met her future husband Kenneth Ozborn. After obtaining her bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, she and Kenneth married and resided on acreage north of town surrounding by what is known as Ozborn Lake. Some of Janell’s most memorable days were spent here, taking walks, watching wildlife, and admiring beautiful sunsets with family and friends.

Janell also received a master’s degree at USM while in her early years of teaching at Decatur High School. She thoroughly enjoyed her 35 years of teaching home economics, and her class was a favorite among students. Even though young women were expected to take home economics, young men were expected to take such courses as auto mechanics or construction, or take a sports class, but many opted to enroll in Janell’s class as well. After her time as an educator at DHS, she became the food services supervisor for Newton County High School when the county schools consolidated in 1991, working in this position for five years before retiring in 1996. Also, in 1968 and again in 1969, she was named a national Outstanding Young Educator.

Growing up only a quarter mile from the Neshoba County Fair, Janell was selected in 1951 to represent the Coldwater School and local community in the Miss Neshoba County Pageant, which was and remains an established tradition of the fair. She was crowned Miss Neshoba County 1951 from 15 contestants who participated that year. Local folklorist, friend, and fellow cabin owner, the late Ovid Vickers, quoted Janell on the experience in a 2014 “Fair Times” newspaper column published by the Neshoba Democrat. He said, “When I asked Janell what her duties were as Miss Neshoba County, she replied, ‘The highlight was probably the opportunity I was given of cutting the ribbon when the paving of the highway from Williamsville to the fairgrounds was completed. I knew I would no longer have to ride to Philadelphia on a corduroy [log] road covered with slick red mud.’” She went on to say that her pageant participation was the most memorable event of the many fairs she had attended. At a 2014 pageant reunion, former winners were asked to bring a young girl who represented to them the future of the pageant and, without hesitation, Janell selected her granddaughter Isabella to accompany her.

Even though she grew up as a Baptist, she became a United Methodist when she married Kenneth and Decatur UMC became a very important part of her life. She was active in the church for 65 years, attending Sunday School, women’s group meetings, serving on committees, and volunteering in many ways. Later, she joined the church choir and enjoyed not only the singing, but the fellowship as well.

A devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, Janell was a kind and loving person. She never met a stranger and always made those around her the center of attention. She immersed herself in the many activities of her children and, in more recent years, in the pursuits and interests of her grandchildren. She counted traveling, cooking for and visiting with community members, and playing bridge with friends among her hobbies. In the last few weeks of her life, she and her family spent time together at Thanksgiving along the beach in Pensacola, Florida.

Predeceased by her husband of 55 years who died in 2010 and son Craig who died in 2006, she is survived by son Kent Ozborn, and daughter Kathie Ozborn and Dorothy Miller, of New Orleans, Louisiana. She has four grandchildren and three great grandchildren: Lowry Ozborn, Lindsey Ozborn, Hunter Miller, and Isabella Miller, Jayden Ozborn, Luke Ozborn, and Mikah Reeves. Janell also leaves her dear loving companion, Harold Carleton and his family, Laurie, Claire, Sue, Joan, Graham, and their families.

Pallbearers include Charles Boggan, Jonathan Hollingsworth, Mike McGrevey, L.J. Nash, Todd Pillsbury and John Huntington.






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