Saturday, May 15, 2021, 83-year-old Jeanette Hale passed away. The Daily Iberian sat down with the longtime Daily Iberian carrier’s daughter and two grandchildren, Debra Romero, Bobby Ritter and Angela Ritter.

DI: First of all, we’re sorry for your family’s loss. Your grandmother worked for The Daily Iberian for a very long time. How long was it?

Bobby Ritter (grandson): She started as a substitute back in 1979. Around 1981, she had her own route. She taught all of us grandchildren her route, and we all pitched in and helped her. We have a lot of memories of being on the route with our grandmother. She worked until last December, when I took over her route.

 

DI: We’re grateful for her long service. Your grandmother was dedicated.

Bobby: She was devoted to serving her customers. She made sure everyone got their paper. She lived for that route.

Debra (daughter): And her grandchildren, she loved y’all so much.

Bobby: Yes, she did. You know, she sometimes took a little break in the route, because her house was nearby. She would stop in and watch her soap, “The Young and the Restless,” then get right back to delivering. 

Angela (granddaughter): Yep, she loved that show. And Fox News, too.

DI: Well, tell us about her. What other things did she enjoy?

Debra: She loved Christmas. She always made sure we would go on the light trails, and she really got into putting up the tree. She wrote Christmas cards for all of her customers on her route. 

Angela: She liked to do jigsaw puzzles, and when she was finished with them, sometimes, she’d glue them together with this special glue and put them on the wall. She liked crossword puzzles, and Search-A-Word puzzles, too.

Debra: She was a good country cook, and a good housekeeper. She would bake biscuits, butterbeans and cornbread. 

Bobby: Oh, and she loved yard sales, she went just about every weekend. She’d get the Saturday edition of The Daily Iberian and circle all the yard sale ads.

DI: What did you admire most about Jeanette Hale? 

Bobby: She was my hero. She survived so much in her life: breast cancer, three heart attacks, the COVID quarantine. 

Debra: She was always a fair person. She would listen to all sides of a story before making up her mind.

Angela: I loved to make her smile, she had a wonderful smile.

Debra: She had a long and happy marriage, right up until my father died. She took care of her family, she was close to all of us, even relatives who lived out of state. She’d call them and check on them from time to time. She took care of her mother, Daisy Ray, before she died.