Willie Jewell Grant Barnett

Willie Jewell Grant was born March 5, 1931, in Mineola, Texas. She passed to the next life November 30, 2020, in Idaho Falls of complications due to Covid-19. She was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and great-grandmother.

Jewell was the 4th child of seven children born to Thomas Allen Grant and Willie Mae Lester Grant. James was the first, then Eddie, Juanita, Jewell, followed by Don, Dotsy, and Jerry. Jewell was born in the early years of the Great Depression into a large, growing family. Like most people, the Grant family struggled in those years of the Depression, but remained a very close, tight-knit family; all contributed. But there was also a lot of love and fun! They had a piano in the house, so music was played often; Gospel, Country, and Boogie Woogie. Jewell learned to play piano by ear. One of her favorite songs to play was “Under The Double Eagle,” but her daddy loved it when she would play Boogie Woogie! She learned to dance the Boogie with her favorite partner, her brother, Eddie!

Jewell had a keen interest in sports at a young age. She would attend Mineola High School football games to watch her brothers play, performing cheers of her own on the sidelines. It was only natural that as a junior in high school she became an official Mineola High School cheerleader!

In search of better opportunities for the family, and urged on by John Morrison, Juanita’s husband, the Grants made the big decision to relocate to San Jose California in 1948. It was a good decision! Jobs were available, and within no time, Thomas and Willie Mae had a home of their own on North 7th St. That home became the foundation for generations of the Grant family!

Jewell stayed in Mineola with her best friend Betty Blackwell, to finish her senior year there. She followed five months later with her brother James and joined the family on 7th St. Eventually, she was asked by her friend Rose Cotello if she would be interested in going on a blind date with a friend of her husband, Chuck. She met her special guy on that date and never looked back!

Les was a tall handsome Marine with blue eyes who drove a dark green 1951 MG TD. After that first date, they were together continually: dinners, dancing, and evening drives in the MG with the top down up to Alum Rock Park, or to the seaside town of Santa Cruz. What a romantic guy! And the family loved him. Jewell and Les were in love, and married April 18, 1953.

For a year or so they lived in a small apartment downtown. There were pack trips into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. She loved to fish and camp. When Jewell became pregnant with their first child, they bought their first home in East San Jose, just below Alum Rock Park!

As the years passed, Jewell and Les had three children: Steven Leslie, Susan Elizabeth, and Karen Ann. They moved to their second home in the foothills of East San Jose. Les worked at IBM while Jewell was the wife and mom at home.

She was a great cook, with her specialty being southern cooking and Mexican food. Meals were always a family affair, at the kitchen table with a view out the window of the foothills. The children kept her busy, always involved in some activity. Steve with his music lessons, bicycle and baseball; Susan and Karen with their dance and music, as well as 4H. Jewell was an excellent seamstress, making costumes for dance recitals, not just for her girls, but the entire troupe! Kids, dogs, cats, rabbits, and horses all kept Jewell busy at home.

Jewell’s brothers and sisters all had children, so organized chaos was the rule of the day when family got together. Large family meals, plenty of drink, homemade ice cream, and lots of love. Jewell was always urged to sit at the piano and play some boogie woogie for everyone.

Annual family vacations always involved camping, fishing, and extended family. The Giants or the 49ers were on the radio at home on the weekends. It was a neighborhood love affair with both teams.

In 1974, Jewell and Les moved south to San Martin, California. They built a wonderful home on four acres that family and friends loved. Many barbeques and parties filled their leisure time. For Halloween, Jewell loved to dress in costume. Some of her more memorable characters were Adams Family Cousin Itt and Phyllis Diller! More than a few trick-or-treaters ran in fear screaming down the walkway and out the driveway when they ran into Cousin Itt!

As the Santa Clara Valley grew, Jewell and Les relocated to Redding, California, to be closer to friends and her brother Eddie. Their good friends, Joe and Cathy Kuschell, maintained a friendship with them that lasted many years. They traveled to many places around the country that they had always wanted to see, sharing the road with Jewell’s sister Juanita and her husband John, and her brother Don and his wife Ginger. They filled a lot of photo albums with memories!

In their final years Jewell and Les settled in Idaho Falls. They instantly became big Chukars fans. Jewell loved being at the ballpark! She loved the holiday dinners and summer barbeques at her son Steve and daughter-in-law Jillyn’s home.

Jewell was preceded in death by her husband of 67 years Leslie C Barnett; her parents, Thomas Allen Grant and Willie Mae Lester Grant; and her siblings, James Grant, Edward Grant, Juanita Morrison, Dotsy DiCristina, and Jerry Grant.

She is survived by her brother, Don Grant of Clovis California; children, Steven Leslie (Jillyn Ann) Barnett of Idaho Falls, ID, Susan Elizabeth (William) Hayward of La Pine, OR, and Karen Ann McCabe of Prunedale, CA; two grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. She is loved and will be missed by many, including Pepper the talking Lab.

The family expresses their gratitude to the staff of MorningStar Senior Living for their years of love, care, and compassion, and the team at Encompass Health and Hospice for the compassionate end of life care they provided.

Jewell’s final resting place will be in the Idaho State Veteran’s Cemetery in Blackfoot Idaho, at her loving husband’s side. A military service will be held at a later date. Cremation is under the direction of Wood Funeral Home & Crematory.