Aline Bartley's Obituary
Aline Drake Jones Bartley died peacefully in her sleep Thursday, February 7. She is survived by three adult children: Aline Drake Gaston Russell, Mary Beth Gaston Spencer, and David Gorman Gaston. Her oldest son, William Bartlett Gaston, Jr., preceded her in death. She is also survived by grandchildren Rachel Ann Gaston, Mary Elizabeth Gaston McLain, William Carl Russell, William Morris Spencer, Courtney McCallum Russell, and Anthony Michael Brunasso, by three nieces and one nephew, and many friends in Memphis and from various other parts of the country.Mrs. Bartley graduated from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia in 1943. She married the Rev. William Bartlett Gaston who graduated from Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. They spent twenty-seven years in ministry together in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Virginia, and Louisiana before moving to Memphis in 1969 when Mr. Gaston took a position as Associate Presbytery Executive for the Presbytery of Memphis. Mrs. Bartley taught and directed church kindergarten schools in churches in Richmond and New Orleans, and did leadership training in a number of settings and locations.After serving in the Christian Education and music programs of the various churches where Mr. Gaston served as Pastor and raising four children, Mrs. Bartley began a career as a public school kindergarten teacher, expressing her great love for young children in a new way.Mrs. Bartley earned a Master’s Degree in Special Education from Memphis State University to gain new skills for working with children with learning disabilities.Mrs. Bartley was widowed in 1971.Mrs. Bartley married Col. Thomas Mitchell Bartley, Jr. November 7, 1977 and moved to San Antonio, Texas. Mrs. Bartley returned to professional ministry as a Children’s Ministry Director at the First Presbyterian Church in San Antonio. The couple moved back to Memphis in 1994. Col. Bartley died in 2001.Mrs. Bartley has been an active member and beloved leader at the Idlewild Presbyterian Church. She has served in various volunteer roles in the church during her life as ruling elder, choir member, pianist/organist, teacher, and most recently as Resource Librarian at Idlewild.Mrs. Bartley’s ministry extended to her last days. In her transition to a retirement home, through months in a rehab center, in the past 7 months in assisted living, and even in her final days in the hospital, her interest in people’s lives and well-being came through in her encounters with staff and residents alike. As one of her fellow residents of the Glenmary assisted living facility puts it, “She was just godly.”There will be a Memorial Service at Idlewild Presbyterian Church at 1750 Union Avenue on Monday, February 11 at 11:00 am followed by a reception at the church.Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Ave. Memphis, TN 38119, (901)767-8930, “Behind the Stone Wall”.
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