Jacqueline Hutcheson Kimsey

A Homegoing Celebration for Jacqueline “Jackie” Hutcheson Kimsey will be held on Monday, January 2, at 11:00 a.m., with visitation at 10:00. The service will be held at Eagles Landing First Baptist Church, 2400 Highway 42 North in McDonough, GA, with Dr. Tim Dowdy and the Rev. Mike Burt officiating and the Rev. Barry Griffin, guest soloist. Jackie passed away peacefully in her sleep at her home in Ellenwood, GA, in the early morning hours of December 22, 2011. Her son, Ken, was with her. She was 80 years old.
Affectionately known as “Mama Jack” to many family members and friends, she was preceded in death by her sister, Barbara Ann Hutcheson Camp; her husband of 61 years, Larry Clay Kimsey; and her twin sons Raymond Thomas “Tom” and Richard Timothy “Tim”.
She is survived by her firstborn son Larry Kenneth “Ken” of Ellenwood, GA; daughter-in-law Rebecca Kitchens Kimsey of Fayetteville, GA; grandchildren Thomas Andrew and wife, Jeanne Hugo, of San Diego, CA, Mary Grace and husband, Ben Richter, of Tucker, GA, Jonathan Lewis and Joy Rebecca of Fayetteville, GA; nephew Dan Camp and wife, Judy; nieces Cindy Hamilton and Sandra Trisch and husband, Johnny; sister-in-law Sara Bryant; and a host of cousins and great nieces and nephews.
Born on January 15, 1931, Jackie grew up in East Point, GA, and graduated from Russell High School. She married Larry at Colonial Hills Baptist Church in 1950. She suffered polio while pregnant with her first son, and after living in an iron lung for a month, she worked diligently with her husband and physical therapists to regain her ability to walk.
Always faithful to the church, Jackie taught Sunday School at Dogwood Hills Baptist Church in East Point, GA, and when her family moved to Miami, FL, in 1963, she served and formed many lifelong friendships at Olympia Baptist Church. Returning to Georgia in 1970, she became active at Greenforest Baptist Church in Decatur for most of the decade, then joined First Baptist Church of Atlanta in the late 1970s, where she worked many years at In Touch Ministries and Pastoral Care. In the early days of the HIV epidemic, she quietly befriended and assisted several individuals and their families living with AIDS. The great hope of her life was that her way of living could introduce everyone in her path to a personal relationship with Jesus, her risen Lord, “using words when necessary.”
An avid reader, she co-owned The Book Place in Stockbridge, GA, with her son, Ken, from 1997 to 2002.
In recent years she blessed many with her faith, friendship and quick wit at Eagles Landing First Baptist Church in McDonough, GA. She had a special affection for younger women and their families. Particularly in the years after Larry’s death in 2007, she drew on the friendship and practical support of many friends, especially Jane Leonard, Bertha Sandifer and Patty Ivers.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested gifts to be given in her honor to Street Grace Ministry www.streetgrace.org, which works to end child exploitation in Atlanta and beyond.