Jennie Maxwell Richardson Norvell Nuessle, 101, passed away peacefully on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020, at her home in Florence.  Better known to her family and friends as "June," she was a loving daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

Born to Robert Patillo Richardson and Jennie Cochrane Maxwell Richardson in Waycross, GA, on Oct. 15, 1919, she was the third of five Richardson daughters and was named for her mother, Jennie. The Maxwells and Cochranes on the maternal side of her family were among the early settlers of Tuscaloosa, AL, where her parents returned to live after the early years in Georgia.

At the age of five she almost died of scarlet fever, but her grandmother Maxie prayed, "Let my grandchild live, and I promise little Jennie will dedicate her life to serving God and the church."  That promise was fulfilled when June went on to become a devoted, life-long member of the Episcopal Church and an active and generous supporter of many charitable organizations.

In high school she was a Golden Eagle Scout and the Diocesan President of the Episcopal Young People. A member of the Drama Club and Glee Club, she took the role of "Little Buttercup" in the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta "HMS Pinafore," a performance she prized as much as speaking at her high school graduation.

She was a member of the Kappa Delta sorority at the University of Alabama, graduating in 1941. She married her first husband Lester R. Norvell, II, MD, in Tuscaloosa in 1943. The couple moved to Florence, but after the birth of their twin children, Lester and Camille, they settled in Cleveland, OH, where Dr. Norvell had a residency in surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. Later, they moved to Norfolk, VA, when Dr. Norvell was stationed at the Naval Hospital there during the Korean War. In 1954, the couple returned to Florence, where Dr. Norvell died in 1972.

In 1974 she married William E. "Bill" Nuessle, a retired executive with the Kraft Foods corporation. Bill introduced June to trout fishing in the Montana wilderness, where the couple vacationed in the summer at a log cabin on the side of a mountain overlooking a stretch of the Stillwater River known as Sioux Charley Lake. Bill died in 1990, making June a widow for the second time.

She has been a member of the Trinity Episcopal Church in Florence for over 70 years.  She served on many committees at Trinity, including seeing to the altar flowers every Sunday. One of her church projects was to write a book to update the history of the church. The project involved collecting historical information and narratives from members of the congregation, along with acquiring photographs and other archival material to document the history.

June was active in the Florence Study Club and a member of the National Society of Colonial Dames of America. She was also a skillful bridge player whose forceful manner at the card table reflected the more general virtue of determination: she was a woman who knew how to get her way, and it was almost always the right way.

Survivors include her children, Camille M. Norvell of Red Hook, NY (David Weir); Lester R. Norvell, III of Florence (Janie); and Helen C. Norvell, also of Florence; her sister, Roberta DuTeil, of Argyle, TX; her granddaughters, Caroline Norvell Martinez (Gustavo) and Searcy Norvell; several great-grandchildren, and numerous nephews and nieces. She was preceded in death by her sisters, Lucy Bibb, Ella Davis, and Fredricka Tyree; by her first husband, Lester R. Norvell, II; and by her second husband, William E. Nuessle.

The family gives special thanks to the home health aides who learned to follow her specific directions "to do things the right way" and who have been devoted to her care over the last years of her life: Greta Bridges, Natalie Hatchett, Shonda Jones, Patricia Kelley, Katherine Williams, as well as Gentiva Hospice. A special thanks also to Mary Ann Sneed, who worked for June for many years, and to Tim Cole who has kept her garden growing and bird feeders filled.

A few weeks before her death, she turned to one of her caregivers and, with a gentle smile on her face, said, "The end is here for me, and I think everything can be summed up in one word: love." And she gave that love generously to all who knew her.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, no funeral or memorial service will be held at this time. The family asks that contributions in lieu of flowers be made to: Trinity Episcopal Church, P.O. Box M, Florence, AL 35631.