Teresa Neaves Obituary

Teresa A. Neaves died of COVID at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo, Mississippi, on August 26, 2023. She was 73. A memorial service will be held at Spring Hill Presbyterian Church, 869 County Road 1389, Saltillo, Mississippi, at 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 23.

Neaves spent 40 years as a law librarian in north Mississippi and New Orleans. A master of the English language, she taught English composition, advanced grammar and literature and worked as a freelance writer. Neaves was born on August 30, 1949, in Baldwyn, Mississippi, to Clarence Gilbert (“Gib”) Neaves and Hazel Dell Mallette. She was educated in Saltillo Public Schools. A lifelong interest in library science and genealogy began with her experience as a 10th grade student worker in the Lee County Library.

She was valedictorian of the Saltillo Class of 1967. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1971, graduating with honors from Blue Mountain College, where she majored in English and library science. She taught freshman English as a graduate assistant at the University of Mississippi. She earned a Masters degree in English in 1973. She was so eager to begin the next chapter of her life in New Orleans that she skipped the graduation ceremony at Ole Miss.

She spent the next 20 years there, teaching, writing and working as a librarian. She taught English and was director of the library at Carrollton Presbyterian School for five years. In 1975, she began writing freelance for area papers including The Vieux Carre Courier, Gris-gris and Figaro.

She became a friend and colleague of journalist Don Lee Keith and others who drew her into the Quarter and helped her become more involved in its community. In the final issue of the Courier, Keith referred to “Miss Neaves” as “the girl with the mean blue pencil.” Neaves later served as executrix of the Estate of Don Lee Keith, originally of Wheeler, Mississippi, and worked to preserve his legacy by donating certain of his papers and property to The Historic New Orleans Collection and spearheading a drive to endow a scholarship for excellence in writing in Keith’s memory at Northeast Mississippi Community College in Booneville, Mississippi, his alma mater.

A portion of Neaves’ estate is designated to further the legacy of Don Lee Keith. Neaves first set foot in a law firm in 1978. She worked as librarian at Limle Kellaher, doing research and loose-leaf filing. She was later recruited by Jones Walker Waechter Poitevent Carrere & Denegue, where she served as law librarian for more than 10 years. She became a charter member and president of The New Orleans Association of Law Librarians (NOALL-pun intended) and member of the Southeastern Association of Law Librarians and National Association of Law Librarians, wherein she served in national and regional offices.

She also was a member of the LexisNexis Law Librarian Advisory Board. Neaves cherished her years in New Orleans and the wonderful friendships she made there. But eventually she returned to her north Mississippi roots. For 25 years, she was law librarian for Mitchell McNutt & Sams, P.A., serving their offices in Tupelo, Columbus, Oxford and Corinth. Late in her career, she also taught freshman composition, sophomore English and American Literature at Itawamba Community College (ICC)-Tupelo Campus, ICC-On Line, and ICC-Business English On Line. In retirement, Neaves turned her efforts to genealogy, using extensive research skills honed by a career as a law librarian and freelance writer to uncover and document history and genealogy of north Mississippi. She proved her lineage to four American Revolutionary War patriots and in 2015 became registrar for the Mary Stuart Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. In that capacity, Neaves helped 62 applicants successfully verify their ancestry to exacting DAR standards. She also became a member of the John J. Hart Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Neaves joined the Saltillo Historical Committee and served as its president for several years, saying that she needed to “give back to the town which had given (her) so much.” She was instrumental in establishing its Archives in the R. B. Robison Resource Center. The Archives collects, preserves and shares materials of enduring historic value to the Saltillo area. She also left a portion of her estate to support continuing work of the Archives. Neaves is preceded in death by her parents and survived by her goddaughters, Charlotte Keenan of Seattle, Washington, and Madeleine Keenan Schwerin (Andrew) of Eureka Springs, Arkansas; her best friend, Lindon Cantrell of Lynchburg, Virginia; and by numerous Mallette, Neaves, Spearman and Stanley cousins of varying degrees of kinship, all documented meticulously on her family tree. Memorials may be made to the Saltillo Historical Committee, P.O. Box 295, Saltillo, MS 38866, or the Mary Stuart Chapter, DAR, 231 Little Harpe Trail, Saltillo, MS 38866. Waters Funeral Home of Baldwyn, MS is in charge of the arrangements.