Tatyana Michaela Neeley

Tatyana Michaela Neeley, 56, known by many as “Tanya” or “Tot,” passed away peacefully with her husband by her side in her home in Sherwood, Arkansas, on June 6, 2023. Tatyana was born in Winona, Mississippi, on December 12, 1966, to Edward Lee Briscoe & Hilde Farmer. In her early years, Tatyana lived with her mother in Germany before moving to the United States where she lived the rest of her life. Tatyana went to high school at Austin High School in El Paso, Texas, and graduated in 1985. She then went on to attend the University of Texas El Paso and Texas Tech University where she received her bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1994. While she never attended the University of Arkansas, she was a proud Arkansas Razorback fan like the rest of the Neeley family.

Surviving Tatyana is her husband of 37 years James Neeley; son Jason Neeley and his wife Helen; sister Sallie Rhine and her husband Bill; as well as her parents Edward Lee Briscoe & Hilde Farmer.

After graduating from college, Tatyana worked as the manager of The Great American Cookie Company at McCain Mall, then at Southwest Airlines as an assistant shift manager. Upon the birth of her only child, she took on perhaps her most difficult job of all in being a stay-at-home mom. After Jason started school, she worked as a customer service representative at Cardinal Health for the remainder of her professional career. Of them all, her favorite job by far was taking care of James and Jason.

Tatyana loved to travel and has visited many places including Germany, France, and Italy. She was also an avid baker who always had fresh brownies and treats made for holidays and weekend visits when Jason came home from college. Tatyana loved to read and loved romantic-comedies and Marvel movies. Even though her husband and son did not share her love for them, she watched plenty of both.

Most of all, Tatyana loved her family and friends. She loved sitting next to James and watching Jason on the baseball field, taking trips to Germany to visit her mom, Aunt Christine and the rest of her family abroad. She also enjoyed trips to Vaiden, Mississippi, to visit the rest of her family for holidays and other special occasions. Catching up with her friends in and around Sherwood over a frozen raspberry margarita from Texas Roadhouse was also a favorite pastime of Tatyana’s.

To know Tatyana was to love her and be loved by her. A faithful servant of Jesus Christ, Tatyana truly embodied the characteristics of a Godly woman as outlined in Proverbs 31. She was the most compassionate, kind, caring, loving wife to James, mother to Jason, and a friend to everyone she met. She loved her family and sacrificed plenty of her time and energy trying to keep James and Jason in line.

In lieu of flowers the Neeley family asks that donations be made in Tatyana’s honor to the American Cancer Society to help fight pancreatic cancer and make a difference in the lives of other families. Donations can be made at the following link: https://donate.cancer.org/?campaign=search&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=%5BB%5D+American+Cancer+Society+-+BMM&utm_term=pancreatic%20cancer%20donation&gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwm4ukBhAuEiwA0zQxk3hSxTx1Wy5juxQ2zkcPOcU4wnv1_WypSS-LzfE6G9Koencqlq7rmBoCkUYQAvD_BwE

The family will host a celebration of Tatyana’s life on Friday, June 23^rd, at 1:00 PM, at Brockington Road Church of the Nazarene, 9860 Brockington Rd, Sherwood, AR 72120.