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Feb. 24, 1959 – March 3, 2022

Tanya Jenkins Jeannice, beloved wife, mother, Grand Tan, daughter and sister, passed away on March 3, 2022, after a brief illness. Born on February 24, 1959, in Centreville, Mississippi to Bennie Martin Jenkins and Mildred Clark Jenkins, Tanya was a graduate of McComb High School and The University of Mississippi where she received her master’s degree in Childhood Education. While at Ole Miss, she was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority.

After graduation, Tanya moved to the Natchez–Vidalia area to begin her 39-year teaching career alongside her aunt and mentor, Janie Hodges. She began teaching kindergarten at Ferriday Elementary and then moved to Vidalia where she taught at Vidalia Lower Elementary and later at Vidalia Jr. High School. After retiring from Louisiana, Tanya moved to Natchez where she taught at Trinity Elementary and was currently a kindergarten teacher at McLaurin Elementary. She taught hundreds of children, always with enthusiasm, creativity and love. These children represent her greatest professional legacy.

Her joy came from her family and friends. She was the proud mother of Alexa and Stewart; the devoted wife and partner of her husband, Mark; the proud Grand Tan to Hallie, Jake and Lawson; the fun-loving middle child of Bennie and Mildred; and the comic relief to sisters Sonja and Lucy.

Tanya was known for her zest for life. She adored color, glitter, jewelry, Christmas, shopping, singing, giving happies, Ole Miss football, Gail Pittman pottery, Hallmark movies, makeup, Vista Vibe, sharing good morning posts on Facebook and texts, Miss-Lou, and most of all the multitude of people she called her friends.

Throughout her life, Tanya displayed the traits of a true Christian – kindness, generosity, never meeting a stranger, compassion, and a love of the Lord.

Tanya was preceded in death by her paternal grandparents, Ira and Ira Jenkins of Liberty, Mississippi, maternal grandparents, Odis and Lucy Clark of East Fork, Mississippi, and her father, Bennie Martin Jenkins of McComb, Mississippi.

Tanya leaves behind her husband, Mark Jeannice of Natchez; daughter Alexa Mallory Dewey and husband, Chad of West Monroe, Louisiana; son, Stewart Mallory, of Natchez; her mother, Mildred Jenkins of McComb, Mississippi; sister, Sonja Jenkins of Tupelo, Mississippi; sister, Lucy Sanguinetti and brother-in-law, Jay of Hattiesburg, Mississippi; brother-in-law Joey Jeannice of Lake Charles, Louisiana; brother-in-law Jeff Jeannice and wife, Darlene of Dry Creek, Louisiana; sister-in-law Melody Breaux of Dry Creek, Louisiana; grandchildren, Hallie, Jake and Lawson; nephew, Whit Sanguinetti and wife, Claire of Hattiesburg, Mississippi; niece, Abbie Zimmerman and husband, Kyle of Victorville, California; niece, Olivia Miley and husband Blake of Sumrall, Mississippi; Mark’s daughter, Mallory Jeannice of Lafayette, Louisiana; two great-nephews and a great-niece; an aunt, Ella Jane Hodges of Vidalia, Louisiana; a host of aunts, uncles and cousins.

Funeral services are scheduled for Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at Laird Funeral Home with visitation from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. and the service to follow at 1 p.m. in Laird Funeral Home chapel.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the University of Mississippi School of Education. Gifts may be made in Tanya’s name to UM Foundation at 406 University Avenue, Oxford, Mississippi 38655 or electronically at umfoundation.com. The family will designate those memorial gifts to early childhood education initiatives.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at lairdfh.com.