Unrelated automobile accidents less than four hours apart and on nearby Olmstead roads involved three people with a history in the Logan County School System, leaving two of them dead.

The deceased drivers are Neva Jenkins, 81, of Olmstead Road, and John M. Steppe, 74, of James Roase they called home. Both had been experiencing health problems, which may have caused them to lose control of their vehicles.

Adding to the sorrow is that Mr. Steppe’s wife, Alice, died a few hours later, leading to joint graveside services Saturday.

Obituaries for Neva Jenkins and John and Alice Steppee appear on Page A-5.

Mr. Steppe's wreck was a single-vehicle accident.

Mrs. Jenkins' 2000 Buick collided with a 2003 GMC driven by Jennifer Jenkins, who was admitted to Logan Memorial Hospital with injuries including a concussion. She was released from the hospital this weekend.

The Jenkins women were not related.

Neva Jenkins, whose services were Monday, was a long-time Olmstead High School home economics teacher who substituted and volunteered in the county school system following her retirement.

Johnny Steppe was a custodian and school bus driver at Logan County High School in the 1980s. His wife joined him as a custodian at LCHS for several years.

Jennifer Jenkins is assistant principal at Olmstead Elementary School, a position she has assumed this semester after beginning the year at Auburn School, where she had taught for several years..

According to official reports from the Logan County Sheriff's Department, the Jenkinses' vehicles collided at 4:30 p.m. Friday. Mr. Steppe crashed at 8:10 p.m. that evening.

The report says Neva Jenkins' car "drifted into the path of the GMC and before being able to correct, the collision occurred."

Jennifer Jenkins’ vehicle was knocked off the road and overturned with the administrator still belted. The Buick came to a rest halfway off the road.

Neva Jenkins was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her long-time friend and colleague Eloise Hadden, who taught home economics at Auburn while Mrs. Jenkins was in charge of the Olmstead program, said her friend had not been well.

"Neva was beginning to take treatments for cancer,” she said.

“She was a very dedicated educator who continued to be a part of the American Home Economics Association long after her retirement,” Mrs. Hadden continued. “We took many trips together, taking their students at state conventions.

“She also was very active in the Logan County Retired Teachers Association and worked to get as many retired educators involved as possible.”

Olmstead Principal Ben Kemplin said he thought of Neva Jenkins “like a grandmother. I wouldn’t have taken a million dollars for her. She was a sweet person who was always helping others.

“In fact, she had been on the road to do a favor for someone else when this happened. She volunteered at the school two or three days a week as long as she was able, she paid the bill for the street lights in Olmstead out of her own money, she led the cleanup of an old cemetery across from the school, and she was active in just about every aspect of the Olmstead community.”

Kemplin said that Mrs. Jenkins had experienced some vision problems and wasn’t able to drive for a while, but that she had doctor’s clearance to drive.

Superintendent Marshall Kemp called Neva Jenkins a “very good person who did a lot for people who needed help. She was fun to be around.”

Jennifer Jenkins has two young children at Olmstead School, but she had left them at school Friday afternoon while she drove over to Dripping Spring Church to support a community activity. She was on the way there when the accident happened.

“It’s a good thing they weren’t with her because her vehicle rolled three or four times,” Kemplin said.