Jeanne King Backstrom

Jeanne King Backstrom, age 97, of Gulfport, passed away on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, in Gulfport.

Mrs. Backstrom was born on September 21, 1925 in Gilmer, Mississippi and had been a resident of Gulfport for the past 76 years.  She graduated high school in Hattiesburg, MS and received her B.S. and M. A. degrees at the University of Southern Mississippi.  She taught in the Gulfport school system for 38 years until she retired in 1985. 

Mrs. Backstrom was preceded in death by her parents, John M. King and Essie Omera Walker; her husband, Oscar Backstrom, Jr.; and her sister, Mickey King Bearden.

Survivors include a daughter, Christina Backstrom Morse (Reilly); granddaughters, Meghan Morse Edwards (Peter) of Washington D.C. and Alexandra Backstrom Morse of Taylor, MS; two nieces, Lynda McDowell Hayes of Flora, MS and Betty Mann McDowell Boswell of Louisville, MS; and two nephews, Mike Bearden of Memphis, TN and Bill Bearden of Pelahatchie, MS.

A memorial service will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, May 1, 2023 at Lynn Meadows Discovery Center in Gulfport.  Mrs. Backstrom will be privately interred at Evergreen Cemetery in Gulfport. Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Home, 15^th Street, Gulfport is honored to serve the Backstrom family.

The family prefers memorials to the Humane Society of South Mississippi, 2615 25^th Avenue, Gulfport, MS 39501 or The Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence, 213 Porter Avenue, Biloxi, MS 39530.