~Our Hidden Figure~

Jessie Ashe Collymore was born April 18, 1928 and departed this life to be with our Heavenly Father early Sunday morning January 8, 2023.  She was a native and lifelong resident of Newport News, VA where she was a member of Second Baptist Church East End.

Jessie attended Newport New Public Schools and was a 1946 graduate of Huntington High School. After high school, in 1947 she attended Virginia Union College and later the Jessie Rattley Peninsula Business College where she was formally trained as a keypunch operator for use on the IBM Type Electric Duplicating Keypunch machine. Mrs. Rattley soon learned that Fort Eustis was hiring keypunch operators and encouraged her students to apply.  Jessie applied and was hired on the spot. Subsequently, becoming one of the first black female keypunch operators and trainers in her department for the Department of the Army at Fort Eustis, VA.  Jessie received several accolades and awards in the field of data and program entry.  However, around 1992, Jessie decided it was time to retire from civil service when the IBM machines were rapidly made obsolete, and the CRT computer terminals were introduced.

Jessie was a devoted and supportive daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt and friend. She enjoyed entertaining family and friends at her home and hosted her family's annual Thanksgiving gathering for decades where her signature dish was the potato salad. She enjoyed traveling with her husband and friends, fellowshipping and serving the community as a member of the Dochiki Wives.

Jessie was a master storyteller, had a unique way of captivating her audience and holding their attention for hours with historical, funny, strange and/or silly stories that celebrated years of what was good and blessed in her life.  She may have been 94 years old, but she had the ability to remember things in exact details as if she could see them in her mind. She would often say, "I have a good memory" and she did until she departed this life on January 8 ^th .

Jessie was preceded in death by her beloved daughter, Weyma "Pat" Williams (8 yrs. old), her loving and devoted husband Perry Walter Collymore, her father Luther and mother Matilda (Banks) Ashe, sister Francis (Marvin) Thomas, brother-in-law Luttrell Hyman, brother-in-law Michael Collymore and nephew James "Mickey" Nixon.

Jessie leaves to cherish her memory, one sister Nevada Hyman (Newport News), one stepdaughter Wendy Collymore (California), three nieces Lanae (Carrollton, GA) and Brenda (Newport News), Dara Collymore (Tucson, AZ); one nephew Michael Collymore Jr.; one sister-in-law JoFrancis Collymore (Tucson, AZ), three great-nieces Keisha Lewis (Largo, MD), Miranda and Jamye Nixon (Atlanta, GA).  Special friends Minerva Graham Nixon and Betty Graham Kimbrough for providing Jessie with loving care and assistance throughout the years and during her convalescence Judy Drew loving friend, DeLois Crockett Scott, and Joan Gravely long-time college classmates.

We are eternally grateful to her neighbors for watching over Jessie throughout the years and caring for her, we appreciate you being such good neighbors.

In lieu of flowers, the family request spending some "Quality Time" with your loved ones sharing family stories and laughter, as she often did in Jessie's memory!

Services to honor her life will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, January 21, 2023 at O.H. Smith & Son Funeral Home. The viewing will be held from 3-6 p.m., on Friday, January 20, 2023 at the funeral home.  O. H. Smith & Son Funeral Home is honored to serve the family.