Jacqueline Napier

Jacqueline Henderson Napier passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loving family, on January 29, 2026. Services will be held Monday, February 9, 2026 at 11:00 AM, at Elmwood Funeral Home in Abilene, Tx. Visitation will begin at 10:00 AM.

Jackie was born on August 7, 1933 in Fredericksburg, TX. She lived on the Henderson family ranch outside of Eldorado, where her father raised sheep, cattle, and thoroughbred horses. As a young girl, she spent most of her time outdoors, playing with her dolls and loving the orphaned fawns and lambs that were always in the yard. She learned to ride, and soon could be found rounding up cows with the cowboys and hanging around the sheep pens at shearing time. Horses were her first love, and when she attended St. Mary's Hall, an Episcopal boarding school in San Antonio, she discovered the school sport of equestrian riding, as well as the joy of jumping.

After graduation, Jackie attended Texas Tech University. There she met Harris Napier, a chemical engineering major with big blue eyes, an intelligent gaze, and a sweet smile. They married in 1953. This was the beginning of a life-long romance that lasted over 70 years and never wavered. Within a year, Harris was drafted into the army. During this time Jackie gave birth to their first two children. Soon, they moved to Tyler, where Harris took a job with Howe Baker Engineers.

After the birth of their third child, Harris and Jackie moved to a farm outside of Lindale, near Tyler. They were very active in the First United Methodist Church of Lindale. Jackie had two more children, and they all enjoyed the benefits of living in the country and caring for animals large and small. Jackie loved the country life. She was very strong, and her children knew her to be fearless and brave.

In 1977 Jackie and Harris decided to move back to Tyler. One Sunday, Jackie met a man with a desire to start a prison ministry. Jackie and Harris were led to donate their farm as a place to build his ministry. Over the last 48 years, Calvary Commission has grown to encompass a prison ministry, support missions around the world, and create a Bible College. It has changed the lives of many ex-prisoners and their families and is a testament to Jackie and Harris's faith in God.

Harris's career spanned 31 years, and during those years Jackie frequently supported him as an accomplished hostess to many Howe Baker employees and clients from all over the world. When Harris retired in 1988, they moved to her family ranch outside of Eldorado. They raised cattle, attended First United Methodist Church, and became actively involved in the Eldorado Chamber of Commerce. In 1995, Harris and Jackie helped implement the Eldorado Centennial Walk and Pioneer Families Memorial, which transformed Main Street with memorial brick pavers and graceful oak trees. During these years Harris and Jackie also discovered a passion and talent for oil painting and created many beautiful scenes of country life that the entire family cherishes.

Jackie and Harris loved living on the ranch, and spent many hours on the porch, listening to the sounds of nature and watching the hummingbirds, deer and turkeys gather around the yard. They were blessed to spend more than 30 years there, enjoying the wind in the trees and the beauty of the big open sky.

Anyone who knew Jackie understood her devotion to God, her love of nature, and her fierce love and pride in her family and family history. She showed her children that life should be a pursuit of happiness and contentment in the simple things, that there is beauty everywhere we look, and that there is great joy in helping others.

Jackie is survived by her loving children, Denise (Bob), Buddy (Julie), Beckett (Amie), and Ben. She will be forever cherished and remembered by her grandchildren, Lauren (Madison), Harris (Shannon), Kelley (Roman), Bobby (Lauren), and Hannah, Maddie, Drew, Zach, and Colby. A special pleasure were her great grandchildren, Preston, Nathan, Margaret, Sam, Goldie, Bodhi, Zoe, Bennett, and Dylan. Jackie is also survived by the families of her sister Jane and her brother Sam.

Jackie was predeceased by her precious son Bennett, and her husband Harris, the great love of her life. Also loved and missed are her parents, Tom and Matabel, her sister Jane and brother-in-law Chester, her brother Sam and sister-in-law Viola, and her niece Ellen and husband Wade.

Pallbearers will be Buddy Napier, Beckett Napier, Ben Napier, Bob Ksiazek, Harris Napier, and Bobby Ksiazek. Honorary Pallbearers are Madison Harris, Zach Napier, Colby Napier and Mark Kirk.

The family would like to thank the Wesley Court Skilled Nursing staff in Abilene, as well as Hospice of the Big Country, who provided peaceful rest to Jackie in the last weeks of her illness.

A very special thank you to her wonderful caregivers, Maggie, Maria, Rita, Blanca, Christie and Roseann. As well, the family would like to thank Lynn Lozano and Maribel Sanchez for their 30 years of unwavering support of the Napier family on the Eldorado ranch.

In lieu of flowers, the family would suggest a donation to the First United Methodist Church in Eldorado, Calvary Commission in Lindale, or Hendrick Home for Children, in Abilene.