Rhea E. Huey

Rhea E. Huey was born on July 27, 1926 in Monongahela, PA and passed away on July 26, 2023 in Gulfport, MS at the age of 97.  She was raised in Clairton, PA, where she attended elementary school, and she graduated from Elizabeth, PA High School in 1944.

A graduate of Transylvania Bible School, Freeport, PA in 1948, Rhea attended Malone College in Canton, OH for two years; then graduated from Asbury College, Wilmore, KY in 1960 with a major in Music Education.  Later, in 1968, she earned a Master’s Degree in Music Education at Ball State University, Muncie, IN.

Rhea was a career elementary-school music teacher and gave private piano lessons wherever she lived: Lexington, KY; and Shipshewana, Hammond, Gas City, and Munster, all in Indiana.  She retired from full-time teaching and moved to Avon Park, FL in 1987.  She married Raymond Huey in 1962 and they were happily married until his passing in 2008.

Daughter of Frank and Mary Jackson of Elizabeth, PA, Rhea was the oldest of five children, survived by Camille Winslow of Elizabeth City, NC and Dale Jackson of Long Beach, MS.  She is preceded in death by her brother, William Jackson of West Palm Beach, FL; and sister, Alice Marie Beck of Rockford, IL.  Rhea also leaves behind to cherish her memory a large number of nieces, nephews, friends, and extended family.

Rhea was an active member of Nazarene Churches in Munster, IN; Winter Haven and Avon Park, FL as a choir member and part-time choir director.  She also participated in annual camp meeting services at the Avon Park Holiness Camp near her home.

Since 2018, she lived with her brother and sister-in-law, Dale and Margaret Jackson of Long Beach, MS and attended the First United Methodist Church of Gulfport.  In lieu of flowers, a gift in her honor may be given to First UMC of Gulfport (2301 15th St, Gulfport, MS 39501) or to the charity of donor's choice.

People who knew Rhea often describe her as a sweetheart, with a ready smile, a quick laugh, a joy to be around, a gracious caring heart and one who lived out her Christian faith.

Plans for a memorial service are pending.