Mary Nell Read Ballew's Obituary
Mary Nell Read Ballew went to be with the Lord on Saturday, February 28, 2015 at the age of 87. She was born to Charles and Frances Read on December 14, 1927 in Haywood County, Tennessee. She is survived by her husband, Pervis, whom she met on a blind date in 1956; her two sons, Jeff and wife, Jennifer, and Read and wife, Trish; four grandchildren: Read, Christie, Will and Georgia; and her younger sister Frances (“Fracca”) Hymel and husband Septime of Shreveport, LA. She attended Memphis State College (now the University of Memphis) and became a life-long resident in the Memphis area. She was active in the community and in her church, serving several terms as a PTA president, as a member of the North Memphis Area Advisory Board of the Memphis City Schools, and in numerous positions of leadership over her 45 years as a member of Grimes Memorial United Methodist Church. She was also active in the Tennessee CPA Wives’ Auxiliary. An avid sportswoman, she taught both her sons to play tennis and golf. Her husband remembers her as a loving and devoted wife, and her children and grandchildren remember her as a caring, witty and adventurous mother and grandmother. Visitation will be from 5:00 -7:00 p.m. on Friday, March 6, 2015 at Memorial Park Funeral Home, 5668 Poplar Ave., and a memorial service will be held in the Riverside Chapel of Memorial Park on Saturday, March 7, 2015 at 10:00 a.m.
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