Louise Courtney Yarwood's Obituary
Louise Courtney Yarwood, 93, of Olive Branch, Mississippi, passed away January 10, 2023, at Olive Grove Memory Care. Louise was known for her energetic dedication to family and friends, world travel, gardening, and basketball. She also was an outstanding nurse who touched the lives of countless patients at Baptist Memorial Hospital Memphis.
Born in Arkansas and raised in Shaw, Mississippi, Louise graduated from the Baptist Memorial Hospital Memphis School of Nursing at the age of 21, and while working at the hospital, went on to earn a Bachelor of Science Degree from what was then Memphis State. She remained a faithful Tiger’s fan until the end. Throughout her life, she was active in the nursing school alumni board, holding many positions of responsibility, and receiving the Outstanding Alumni Service Award in 2008.
Louise was always a nurse at heart. Fiercely loyal, she spent her entire 70-plus year nursing career at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis. During that time, she held positions from Staff Nurse to management positions in Surgery and Central Supply, ultimately retiring from Employee Health.
She found her partner for life at age 56 when she married Lee Yarwood. They had 38 wonderful years together.
Louise was preceded in death by her parents, George and Alma Courtney and her brothers, Rudolph Courtney, and Lloyd Courtney. She is survived by her husband, Lee, who remained by her side throughout a long illness, her sister, Patricia (Kelly) Runnels, her nieces, Courtney Runnels, Pamela Courtney Zagone, and Cynthia Courtney Stephenson, as well as numerous cousins. She also leaves a large circle of friends from her nursing days and her church, St. Luke’s United Methodist Church Memphis, all of whom will miss her loyalty and concern for others.
Funeral Services will be held on Saturday, January 21, 2023 at 11:00am at Memorial Park Funeral Home in the Fireside Chapel. The Family will receive friends for a visitation an hour prior to the service starting at 10:00am. Burial will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery.
The family wishes to direct any memorial contributions to Baptist Health Sciences University at the Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation, 350 N. Humphreys Blvd., Memphis, TN 38120 or www.bmhcc.org,or to the charity of your choice.
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