Jo Nell Bingham

Jo Nell (Cook) Bingham, age 89, left this life on July 1, 2020, in Seffner, Florida. She was born in Kouts, Indiana, on October 4, 1930, to the late Robert and Avia Cook. She had one sister, now deceased, Dorothy (Mrs. Sammie) Bell. During her high school years, through the influence of a classmate, Jo Nell found the purpose for and direction of her life: to serve and ultimately to live with her Lord. Her faith has now become sight. In 1950, after a brief period of study at Freed-Hardeman College in Henderson, Tennessee, Jo Nell married W. Eural Bingham. Just a few weeks ago, on May 21, the two of them celebrated 70 years of marriage. Eural and Jo Nell had three children in the first five years of their marriage: Rebecca in 1951, Nancy in 1952, and Mark in 1955. Robert was born in 1965, and Jonathan in August of 1969, just two weeks before Rebecca left home for college. Jo Nell devoted 36 years of her life to helping Eural nurture their five children, teaching them and showing them what it means to serve the Lord and to serve others. Jo Nell devoted her energies to that service wherever Eural’s preaching took them—including Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi (again), Illinois (again), and North Carolina. During their second residence in Mississippi, she finished her bachelor’s degree and teacher certification, and in Ewing, Illinois, she taught middle-school math over a period of 15 years. After leaving North Carolina, she and Eural spent several years in Texas, then in Tennessee, and finally in Florida. They also made preaching trips to Hawaii and Maine, as well as many other states, and traveled to visit their children in Germany and Zimbabwe. In their years of retirement they made nine trips to Alaska—four of them road trips—to visit and encourage Christians there. Having ended her long struggle with Alzheimer’s, Jo Nell is survived by Eural, her husband of 70 years, and by their five children: Rebecca Bingham of Anchorage, Alaska; Nancy (Randy) Tumlinson of Houston, Texas; Mark (Melanie) Bingham of Seffner, Florida; Robb (Dawn) Bingham of Dacula, Georgia; and Jon (Bethany) Bingham of Louisville, Kentucky. She also leaves a legacy of 18 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren, as well as countless loving brothers and sisters in Christ. If you would like to honor Jo Nell, the family suggests that you consider making a memorial gift to Florida College (www.floridacollege.edu/giving/make-a-gift) or to a favorite charity. Graveside service will be held Wednesday, July 8, 2020 at 11:00 am at Frayley's Chapel Cemetery.