Elizabeth Virginia Eaddy Dameron's Obituary
Elizabeth Virginia Eaddy Dameron, a long-time resident of Memphis, Tennessee, and resident for the past two years in South Burlington and Shelburne, Vermont, died on July 10, 2018 at The Residence at Shelburne Bay in Shelburne. She was 92 years old. Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, on November 15, 1925, she was the only daughter of Bess Partee Eaddy and George Huggins Eaddy. Her father was a successful small businessman and veteran of both World War I and World War II. Eaddy spent much of her childhood in Wheeling, West Virginia, Atlanta, Georgia and Cleveland, Ohio, where she graduated from high school in 1943. She spent two happy years (1943-1945) at Ward Belmont College in Nashville, Tennessee, before matriculating to the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill). A proud member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority, she graduated with a BA degree in English in 1950. At Chapel Hill she met her husband, John Lasley Dameron, a war veteran and native North Carolinian. They married in 1949 and remained in Chapel Hill until 1953 while he completed his graduate work in English. After two years at Emory and Henry College in Virginia, Lasley and Eaddy moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, where they lived from 1955 to 1962. There, they began raising two sons and established strong and lasting friendships that lasted many decades. After her husband completed his Ph.D. in English in 1962 at the University of Tennessee, Eaddy and her family moved to Memphis where Lasley assumed a position as member of the Department of English at the University of Memphis. They remained in Memphis, living in the same house, until his death in the summer of 2016. Throughout their 67 years of marriage, they were passionate tennis players and world travelers. Eaddy in particular was devoted to the promotion of tennis at the local and state levels, especially for women. Her love of the sport began in her girlhood, and she played well into her early 80s. Some of her happiest memories included driving her sons and their friends to compete in junior tournaments throughout the South in the 1960s and early 1970s. Another highlight among her memories were the weekly doubles games and lunches at the Racquet Club over many years with a dedicated cohort of women friends. An accomplished player and celebrated tournament organizer and director, Eaddy held state, regional, and national rankings. In 1985, for example, in the category of women’s 60 singles, she was ranked 23rd nationally, first in the state of Tennessee, and fifth in the South by the United States Tennis Association. In recognition of her many contributions to tennis, she was inducted into the Tennessee State Tennis Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Amateur Sports Hall of Fame (Memphis Park Commission) in 1986. Aside from tennis, Eaddy was deeply engaged in King’s Daughters and her local Memphis chapter of the PEO Sisterhood. To all who knew her throughout her life, Eaddy had a warm, engaging, and sparkling personality, humble and outgoing. Eaddy was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and one great-grandchild. She leaves behind her two sons, George and John, their wives (Deborah and Susan), her close friend (Carol Owen, Deborah’s sister), two grandsons, and six great-grandchildren. The family wishes in particular to thank Dr. Susan Weinstein, the staffs at The Residence at Shelburne Bay in Shelburne, Vermont, the Visiting Nurses Association of Vermont, Pillsbury Manor South, Allenwood, and the Medical Center of Vermont for the excellent care and assistance our Mother received since she moved to Vermont in 2016. The family will receive relatives and friends on Thursday, July 19th from 5 pm to 7 pm at Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Avenue in Memphis. There will be a private graveside service for family the following day. Donations in Eaddy’s memory should be made to the organization or charity of the donor’s choice.
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