Funeral Services for Jackie Gentry, Age 89 of Houston, Missouri will be held on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2025 at The Houston First Baptist Church, Houston, Missouri, beginning at 11:00 AM. Visitation will be held prior to the service, beginning at 10:00 AM. Burial will be held after the Funeral Service in The Pine Lawn Cemetery, Houston, Missouri.
Shirley “Jackie” Jacqueline Myers Gentry, 89, passed away November 26, 2025, following a lengthy illness.
The daughter of Herbert Ross Myers and Gladys Wheeler Myers, she was born February 8, 1936, at the family farm at Ellis Prairie. Tragedy struck the Myers family in the Fall of 1940, when her father drowned while on a fishing trip near Sands Shoals on the Big Piney River when she was 4. Her two much older sisters, Virginia and Dorene, pitched in to help their mother raise her. Jackie and her mother moved to Houston in 1946. Jackie graduated with the class of 1954.
A year later, she married Darrel “Gene” Gentry on May 28, 1955. The couple celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary this year at Houston House, where Jackie became a resident in Spring 2024.
The Gentrys lived at High Town before moving to Houston in 1965. In the early years of the marriage, Jackie worked with the Texas County Library bookmobile as it was just beginning to serve residents and later for the U.S. Agriculture, Stabilization and Conservation Service and International Shoe. Jackie left the workforce after seven years and devoted her energies to raising the couple’s two children, Bradley Gene and Tricia Renae.
It was a busy life for the young couple: Gene farmed, began state employment and was involved in public service. The Gentrys were active in their church, First Baptist of Houston. Jackie taught Sunday School for children and was involved in many functions. She was active assisting in her children’s school activities and often found time to continue her love of reading she developed at the library – whether enjoying a good book and reading the newspaper daily — and was talented in the arts, painting and needlepoint. For family and community events, Jackie’s blackberry cobbler and bread rolls were a requested menu item.
Later in life, Gene and Jackie traveled to many auctions in the Midwest after they became Carnival Glass hobbyists and developed an extensive collection.
Mrs. Gentry is preceded in death by her parents, her sisters and an infant brother. She is survived by Gene of the home, a son, Brad, Houston; and a daughter, Trish, Collinsville, Oklahoma, as well as a niece, Dana Harper of Houston; a nephew, Roger (Carolyn) Norris of Overland Park, Kansas, and numerous cousins.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to the Texas County Library Foundation or Missouri Baptist Children’s Home.
