Helen "Marie" Jowers Blackwell

Helen "Marie" Jowers Blackwell, passed away peacefully on October 30, 2025 at the age of 100, just 18 days shy of her 101st birthday. She was born on November 17, 1924 in the Village of Atlanta, Louisiana, Winn Parish, to Benjamin L. and Myrtle Byrd Jowers. Marie was the oldest of four children. She grew up in Verda, Louisiana, where she attended high school, until she left home at the young age of 17. After leaving home Marie worked several jobs, but the two she enjoyed the most and spoke of often were her jobs at the Governor's mansion dealing cards for poker games and working the ice cream counter in the commissary at Fort Polk. Marie became a housewife and mother of two after meeting and marrying her husband Jack in 1946. As Marie, herself would tell you, she did not grow up in a Christian home, and she didn't become a Christian until after she was married. As she told it, she woke up one day and decided that her and Jack needed to go to church, and it was one of the best decisions she ever made. She began attending the Colfax Baptist Church, where she became a faithful member, attending every Sunday, until she moved to Kenner, Louisiana in 1966 and began attending Williams Boulevard Baptist Church. She loved teaching Sunday School and talking about her love of God, and helping others to learn about the bible. She was always ready to pray with or for anyone who needed prayer. Marie moved back to Colfax, Louisiana in 1987, where she remained until 2020 when Hurricane Laura severely damaged the town. Then she moved to Ponchatoula, Louisiana to be closer to her son and his family, until Alzheimer's made it impossible for her to live alone. Marie was predeceased in death by her loving husband, Bobby "Jack" Blackwell, her beloved daughter, Pamela Kay Blackwell Beasley, her parents, Benjamin L. and Myrtle Byrd Jowers, her siblings, Kenneth Jowers, Katherine Watson, and Charles Jowers. She leaves behind to cherish her memory, her son, Bobby Jack Blackwell, II (Debbie), granddaughter, Danielle Claire Blackwell Parker (Sam), grandsons, Brandon Louis Blackwell, Erich and Gregory Beasley, and five great grandchildren. Pallbearers will be Bobby Jack Blackwell, Brandon Louis Blackwell, & Raymond Daniel Alderson. Honorary pallbearer will be Staff Sergeant Samuel Dale Parker, United States Army. Also, serving as pastor of the funeral service will be Chaplain Kin Ellis. We would like to thank the wonderful staff at Landmark of Hammond Nursing Center, for their amazing care during Marie's declining health, they were kind, caring and compassionate, they were like family to all of us. There was a small private family visitation at Brandon G. Thompson Funeral Home, Ponchatoula, Louisiana, with a graveside service and burial in the Colfax Cemetery.

Tributes

Helen "Marie" Jowers Blackwell

November 17, 1924 - October 30, 2025