Tribute to My Grandmother, Mudear, Leeanna Barney Collins – 1935-2021
Published: December 22, 2021
By: Willie Barney, Co-Publisher Revive Omaha
Just last month, we celebrated the life and homegoing of my grandmother, Mudear, Leeanna Barney Collins. The writing on the casket, “Heaven has gained a new Angel.” I told my cousin Tina, “I hope they are ready.”
She had her own way. Her own style. There will never be another one like her. She was the original. Loving. Tough. Strong. Full of joy, laughter and humor. Full of faith.
God bless the spirit and soul of my amazing, one of a kind grandmother. Mudear will live on forever. Her legacy continues because we are her legacy. We will honor her life and the way she loved and taught all of us. High expectations. Tough love. Discipline. Family. Joy. Laughter. Community. Most importantly, seek God first. She is one of the main reasons I do what I do.
I was honored to be able to read scripture and pray during the service for Mudear.
“Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” That was the scripture God put in my spirit to read at the homegoing. She pointed us to God from an early age.
Attached is a tribute I wrote earlier this year when I learned that she had become very ill. She celebrated 86 years of life on Oct 27th.
(Our last photo together)
I woke up this morning thinking about my grandmother who we have affectionately, lovingly and with great respect called Mudear as long as I can remember.
Her name is Leeanna Barney Collins, but everyone who knows her calls her Mudear. She’s the strongest, boldest, kindest, wisest, most caring and yes most humorous grandmother you will ever meet.
She’s also tough and don’t take no mess and will protect her family at all costs. As we grew up, I don’t know how she took care of all of us. At one point, many of us all lived in a small house in rural Mississippi fueled by gas space heaters and supported by an outhouse complete with all kinds of snakes in the backyard.
She, my mom and aunt Delores always made sure we had enough to eat although my uncles would leave you crumbs if you were late to the table.
She made sure we traveled to Greenville to shop for back to school clothes. Man, there was nothing like going shopping with Mudear. She was always dressed for the occasion and walked in those stores holding her purse, back straight and head high like she owned the place.
That annual trip to get school clothes was one of the highlights of my year. Heading to Greenville to shop at “Looking Good” and other stores was a true adventure to a small child.
She comes from a long line of distinguished family members. My great grandfather was a land owner. My great grandmother took care of a large family but passed at a young age. Most of the family came from Louisiana, Tensas Parish to be exact. As I was told, the family moved to Mississippi in the middle of the night because another landowner and a sharecropping relationship where our family worked would always end up owing at the end of the year.
From her early years, Mudear took care of her brothers and sisters. She has taken care of not only family, but friends, neighbors and anyone that passed by and needed a plate didn’t leave empty handed.
She took us to church. She sang gospel songs in the kitchen with my Aunt Delores and mom in the morning before we left. She made sure we made it to Harvest Festival and my Aunt Delores who we still call Mama to this day, made sure we had Easter speeches and learned our ABCs and multiplication (times) tables.
Mudear didn’t play when it came to discipline, going to school and getting good grades. She would have us put our report cards on the table when we came home from school. The next morning we would learn about the repercussions if our grades were not satisfactory. Let’s just say the neighbors knew if you weren’t making A’s and B’s. C’s weren’t allowed in the house.
Mudear has always been an incredibly giving woman. She and our neighbors in the Village on 438 would always support each other. When one didn’t have something, the other would provide.
We had a neighbor down the highway that grew corn, beans and peas. We would shell the peas for my grandmother. She would also preserve food for our family and for neighbors.
Another neighbor always raised chicken. We weren’t short on eggs very often. Periodically we were sent next door to get sugar, salt or something else. Other times, we were sent with a plate to make sure they had enough to eat. Mudear made sure everyone was taken care of.
We didn’t have a car so we walked just about everywhere except when we needed to go into the nearest small town which was Arcola or the “big trips” to Greenville. Usually when we went to Arcola on the back of my uncle Albert’s truck, it was to wash clothes for the week at the Arcola laundry or buy groceries at Tams Foodway. My grandmother made sure we had some change to get a few cookies at the store, but don’t ask for nothing else and we knew enough not to act a fool in the store. As a child, it seemed like everyone in Arcola knew Mudear.
Some of the great moments that I can remember as a child were sitting and listening to my grandmother tell stories about her life growing up in Louisiana. She is one of the greatest story tellers on the planet. A gift she passed on to others in the family. Even to this day, when we get together for reunions and celebrations, we will sit and laugh all night long as each family member takes turns recounting stories about Mudear and things we did as children on Highway 438.
My personal favorite was when she told about the time that she was chased in a red dress by a bull. She would also tell us about how there were times in Louisiana where the flooding was so bad they had to wait on top of the roof for boats to come get them. I couldn’t really picture this until years later I watched Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and people sat on rooftops waiting for the national guard and others to save them. I thought to myself, wow that is exactly what my grandmother was saying.
My Mudear had been very ill lately. Family members have been doing everything they could to assist her and show her the kind of love she had shown all of us all of these years.
God bless the soul of my amazing, one of a kind grandmother. Mudear will live on forever. Her legacy continues because we are her legacy. We will honor her life and the way she loved and taught all of us. High expectations. Tough love. Discipline. Family. Joy. Laughter. Community. Most importantly, seek God first.
Of all the families in the world. I am so glad. I am incredibly thankful. This is my family. This is my village. I thank God for the way we grew up. I thank God for the good times. The tough times. The joy and the laughter. One of a kind. One of a kind.
Community Features
Thinking Big & Bold; $14 Million Development in North Omaha
By Co-Publisher, Willie D. Barney, July 2026
How a 12-year vision, bold partners, and persistence helped bring a $14 million job creation project to North Omaha.
A quick story about thinking big and bold. I realized this week that I never shared this behind-the-scenes piece I wrote a few months ago, when OEDC and CHI formally announced a $14 million job creation project that will bring 100 jobs to North Omaha. For me, this project is more than a building, more than a headline, and more than a ribbon cutting. It is a reminder of what can happen when we cast a vision, stay persistent, and believe that our community deserves solutions at scale.
North Omaha has always had talent, faith, creativity, entrepreneurs, families, leaders, and people ready to work. What we have not always had is the level of investment, access, and opportunity needed to match that talent. That is why this announcement matters. It shows what is possible when institutions listen, community leaders push, and partners are bold enough to stay at the table even when the work gets hard.
The Question That Opened the Door
Twelve years ago, I was in a meeting with Ann Schumacher, Pete Festersen, and Kevin Nokels, former vice president at CHI Health. We were discussing partnerships between the Empowerment Network and CHI Health to address needs in the community. Most of the conversation focused on health, which was important and needed. But I kept coming back to another part of community health: jobs, careers, and wages.
We talked initially about Step-Up and filling existing positions. Then Kevin leaned over and said something that stuck with me: “Why don’t you ask us to do something really BIG?”
WOW. I loved it. We were in the early days of creating the Transformation 2025 plan, and we were talking about taking solutions to scale. Kevin opened the door to do exactly that.
From an Idea to a Community Vision
After taking some time to think and pray about it, I called Kevin and said, “What if CHI could help with job creation by bringing one of their business units to North Omaha? What if that move could help address unemployment and create opportunities for entrepreneurs to do business?”
Kevin said, “Now you are talking.”
That was the beginning of a long journey. I asked Vicki Quaites-Ferris, our VP of Operations, to join me, and we started meeting with Kevin and members of his team to figure out ways to make it happen. As the idea gained momentum, we knew we needed a developer. I reached out to Michael Maroney because we had been working together for years on other initiatives. Michael joined in and made a commitment for OEDC to use its expertise and experience to help bring the vision to reality.
The Long Road to Fruition
We went through all kinds of plans, strategies, designs, and proposals. We looked at dozens of locations and buildings throughout North Omaha. We had one in the historic 24th and Lake area that was almost there, but we could not get it across the finish line. We looked at North 30th, Ames, 16th Street, and other locations.
There were barriers. Challenges. Changes in leadership. Then the pandemic hit, causing even more delays. If you have ever been part of real community development work, you know it rarely moves in a straight line. It takes vision, patience, faith, relationships, and a lot of people who refuse to give up.
Through it all, Michael Maroney and Pete Festersen kept pushing forward. I have not been as involved the last four years, other than working with State Senators to help get state funds approved through LB531. But Michael, Pete, OEDC staff, CHI leaders, elected officials, funders, and many others stayed with it and finally brought it to fruition.
A Win Bigger Than One Project
Now, North Omaha will see a $14 million project that is expected to generate more than 100 jobs with competitive wages and benefits. It will also double CHI’s capacity to serve meals across the region. That is impact. That is investment. That is what happens when a community-centered idea is given room to grow into something transformational.
I think it is important to say this plainly: Black communities deserve more than programs that manage poverty. We deserve investments that create ownership, jobs, careers, contracts, business opportunities, and generational impact. We deserve partners who do not just come to the community for meetings, but who are willing to bring real projects, real dollars, and real opportunity.
The Lesson: Ask Big, Stay Bold
This project reminds me why we have to keep thinking big. Sometimes the first idea is not big enough. Sometimes the first location does not work. Sometimes the timeline stretches far beyond what we expected. But when the vision is rooted in community and the partners remain committed, the outcome can still be powerful.
I am incredibly encouraged to see what is possible when we think big, cast a bold vision, and work with partners who are willing to stick with it even when it gets hard. Congratulations to OEDC and CHI Health. This is a big win for North Omaha, for the city, and for the region.
Community Features
Omaha visit to Black Wall Street, Greenwood and North Tulsa; Expanding Relationships
Empowerment Network, Revive Black Business Network and Church on Purpose visit Black Wall Street, Greenwood and North Tulsa for collaboration, business exchange, cultural and historic tours and development opportunities
OMAHA, Neb. (September 1, 2024)
By Willie Barney (photos by Nehemiah Neo Barney)
Monumental. One of the best and most meaningful experiences of my life. A God-given vision coming to life.
Leaders from Tulsa, Oklahoma reached out in 2022 to learn more about our collective work here in Omaha. Since then, I have been blessed with the opportunity to establish relationships with leaders, business owners, developers, non-profit execs, elected officials, social justice activists, cultural pioneers, pastors and others from Greenwood and Black Wall Street. The collaboration though early in the process is growing, expanding and producing much fruit.
Over 50 leaders from Tulsa have visited Omaha in the past two years. It was our turn to travel. The relationships culminated recently into a powerful and inspiring three-day partner city visit with nearly 100 friends, family members and partners from Omaha traveling to Tulsa via chartered buses.
Prior to this trip, over the past two years, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to Tulsa, Greenwood and Black Wall Street six times for various meetings and events. We have formed powerful connections.
Just like everyone else, I had read about and heard about Black Wall Street which was one of the world’s most economically successful communities before being destroyed in the massacre. I was able to walk the streets where it all happened, see the historic sites, meet one of the few living survivors and discuss strategy with many descendants involved in rebuilding efforts. I have been profoundly impacted by every aspect and reenergized by the spirit of Greenwood.
Yolanda joined me for the third trip when I was invited to be a keynote speaker. We visited Oasis Fresh Market and spent time on Greenwood Avenue. Ben Gray joined me for two of the trips as we shared about the early stages of forming a community collaborative and toured new developments.
Ben and Jonathan Chapman joined me in July 2024, and we were introduced to Black History Saturday and attended services at Historic Vernon AME church. It was an incredibly spiritual, emotional, transformational and thought-provoking trip.
We agreed while still at the church that we should bring a bus of Omaha partners and church members back to experience what we had experienced and to show Tulsa how much we appreciated them and their resiliency. In less than three weeks, we returned to Tulsa with nearly 100.
The purpose and goals of the site visit: build stronger relationships, celebrate the people of Tulsa and their rebuilding efforts, network with leaders involved in development, experience cultural tours, explore black history, attend service at Historic Vermont AME, and facilitate intentional business exchange. It has been described by attendees as a life changing and soul stirring trip. We are already working on the next one.
We started with the Empowerment Network Team, Revive Business Network members and community partners who are primarily engaged in economic development, revitalization, entrepreneurship and home construction. We are working with other cities to launch youth employment programs, violence prevention collaboratives, business networks and other initiatives. In Tulsa, the initial work is focused on community and economic development.
We were joined on the trip by Church on Purpose leaders and members the second and third day for Black History Saturday, tours of the Black community’s rebuilding efforts, visit to Oasis Fresh Market, shopping in the historic Greenwood/Black Wall Street Business District, church service at Historic Vernon AME and ended with more historic tours at Greenwood Rising and the basement of the church.
There are far too many Tulsa friends to thank but we greatly appreciate the support and hospitality of Councilor Vanessa, Charles, Damali, Kristi, Brandon, BerThaddeus, Rose, Tyrance, Tracey, Heather, Lana, Terrell, LaShan, Roselyn, AJ, Freeman, Angela, Pastors and so many others. We love and appreciate the powerfully resilient people of Greenwood, Black Wall Street and Tulsa! You are an example for the nation and world.
Thank you to all who stepped out in faith with us. This is complete confirmation of a long time God-given vision and just a taste of the future and what’s to come. We are walking in purpose. A growing national network, mobilized to Rebuild the Village together. We choose to Build together. Empowerment Network. Revive Black Business Network. Omaha. Tulsa. Greenwood. Black Wall Street. More to come!
Check out this amazing recap video from our friends Charles Harper and Damali Wilson at World-Won Development:
