Coleene McCollum
Posted: September 29, 2022
With great sorrow, we bid goodbye to Coleene “Nana” Berry McCollum, who passed away peacefully on September 22, 2022, in Murfreesboro, TN. She was born January 5, 1926, in Van Vleet, MS. She was raised in Tupelo, MS.
Coleene attended Blue Mountain College, but her operatic-quality voice soon provided her the opportunity to study at The Julliard School in New York City. Following her training at Julliard, she returned to Mississippi where she raised her children in West Point. She eventually settled in Columbus, MS.
With a keen wit and dynamic personality, Coleene found significant success through local television and radio. Later, she served as a keynote speaker at prominent national conferences and reinvented herself as a traveling salesperson near the end of her working career. She loved to talk, and her natural, bright-red hair, zest for life, and charisma attracted others to her.
Coleene was always the life of the party and fiercely independent. She loved traveling, and her beloved pets were always on the road beside her. Her greatest joy came from laughing while sharing time with family and friends.
Coleene is preceded in death by her parents, Thomas Coleman and Alliene Atkinson Berry; brothers, Charles E. Berry and Donald A. Berry; favorite aunt, Dorothy Baker; beloved nephew, Scott Berry and his dear son, Taylor Berry; as well as many other loved ones.
She is survived by her children, Tom (Debbie) McCollum of Madison, MS, and Melissa (Lance) McCormick of Nashville, TN. She also leaves behind six grandchildren, Cole McCollum (Lori Tinsley) of Madison, MS; Cassie (Joey) Sherman of Madison, MS; Courtney McCollum of Houston, TX; Madelynn McCormick (Matt Bailey) of Nashville, TN; Ian McCormick of Knoxville, TN; Seth McCormick of Knoxville, TN; and a bonus grandchild, Jacquelyn Wallace (Chris Smith), of Sumrall, MS. She also is survived by four great- grandchildren, Allie Kate and Olivia Sherman and Emersyn and Sawyer Smith.
To celebrate Coleene’s remarkable life, the family will remember her with love and laughter during a private gathering. In lieu of flowers, we ask that others honor her memory by donating to one of her favorite charities: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital www.stjude.org/give or the Columbus Lowndes Humane Society www. clhumanesociety.org/donate-now.