Edith "Inez" Lovelace Jenkins

Edith "Inez" Lovelace Jenkins, 91, of Dysartsville, NC passed away peacefully, Sunday, March 27, 2022. Born May 6, 1930 on the family farm in Rutherford County she was the daughter of the late Joseph Baxter Lovelace and Cleo Campbell Lovelace. She was their only child and the last surviving child of Mr. Lovelace. Inez was a member of Burkemont Baptist Church where she was a dedicated member of the Care Team for many years. As the last survivor of her siblings, she became the hub of the Lovelace family. Inez was a member of the Foothills Hoofers and the International Friendship Force. She most enjoyed and immersed herself into researching her family genealogy with her nephew, Greg Lovelace.

Inez lived with her nephew, Louis Lovelace (La Una) for the past ten years, and even though she had no children of her own, she considered herself mother to Lou, her niece, Suzette Smith, and her cousin, Meredith Tarantino. She also cherished her other surviving nieces and nephews, Marilyn Arney, Edith Dale, Donald Lovelace, Chris Smith, Brenda Conner, Roger Lovelace, David Lovelace, numerous great nieces and nephews, and special cousin Mary Sue Price.

In addition to her parents, Inez was preceded in death by her husband Robert Jenkins; sisters, Ella Lovelace, Macie Jenkins, Blanche Biggerstaff, Georgie Daves, Ruth Smith; brothers, Bonnie, Bertchel, Walter, James, and Flay Lovelace; fifteen other nieces and nephews.

Inez was a 1948 graduate of Sunshine High School in Rutherford County where she developed a lifetime friendship with her teacher, Elizabeth Hunt. She worked as a telephone operator in the early days of Southern Bell in Morganton where she manually made the connection when someone picked up their phone and said "operator". After the death of her husband, she became a valued member of the Grace Hospital staff where she served once again as a telephone operator until her retirement in December of 1995. It was in her time at Grace Hospital where she formed many more lifetime friendships and became known to them as "Nezzie".

A memorial service will be held at 4pm, Saturday, April 9, 2022 at Burkemont Baptist Church with the Rev. Dr. Luke Lane, Rev. Dr. David Mills, and Louis Lovelace. The family will receive friends at a reception in the Family Life Center following the service with instructions from Inez to have fun. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Burkemont Baptist Church, Above and Beyond Fund, 4668 Burkemont Road, Morganton, NC 28655; Cedar Grove UMC, 160 Toney Road, Bostic, NC 28018; or Walls Baptist Church, 749 Walls Church Road, Bostic, NC 28018.

The family is especially thankful for the excellent care Inez received from the wonderful people of Mission McDowell Hospital, especially ER and second floor staff, and the staff of Hospice of the Carolina Foothills.

Sossoman Funeral Home and Crematory is assisting the family with the arrangements.