Rebecca Laughlin Sherman's Obituary
REBECCA LAUGHLIN SHERMAN, 96, passed away peacefully in her home on August 3, 2012. Her husband of 66 years, Charles Robert Sherman, a prominent Memphis attorney and banker, died in 2006. Five brothers and sisters preceded her in death: Elizabeth (Mrs. Devereaux) Porter, Sarah Frances (Mrs. Frank) Boswell, Harry W. Laughlin, Jr., and Althea, Mary Louise (Mrs. Dabney) Crump, and Albert E. Laughlin, Sr. and Mary. Mrs. Sherman’s father, Judge Harry W. Laughlin, Sr., served 37 years on the Circuit Court, Division 4, Shelby County, Tennessee, retiring in 1942. She acquired a love of learning from her father, who was a Classics scholar, and from her mother, Frances Weber Laughlin of Hickory Withe, Tennessee, who before her marriage in 1905, taught Latin at Ward-Belmont College in Nashville. Mrs. Sherman received a B. A. in English from Southwestern, now Rhodes College, in 1938, where she maintained an honor roll average, was a member of AOPi Sorority and was chosen Most Beautiful in her graduating class. She met her husband, Charles at Southwestern and they were lifelong supporters of the college. Mrs. Sherman served on the President’s Council and was a member of the selection committee for the Charles R. & Rebecca L. Sherman Scholarship Fund. Among her many civic activities, Mrs. Sherman was a member of the Junior League of Memphis and served as Chairman of the League’s Art Education program in the Memphis City Schools. She chaired the Junior League Ball in 1955 which funded many of the Junior League’s philanthropic programs. She was a member of the Women’s Exchange and a founding member of the Memphis Symphony League. She co-chaired the Maid of Cotton contest for ten years. She was a member of the Board of the Porter Leath Home and volunteered at the Mary Galloway Retirement Home. She also was active in the Memphis Brooks Women’s League, the Noel Club and the Tuesday Study Club. She served as President of the Junior League Garden Club and was a Life Member of the Little Garden Club. Gardening was a special interest and she grew Tropicana roses and Sasanqua camellias at her former home on West Cherry Circle. Mr. and Mrs. Sherman were members of the Memphis Hunt & Polo Club and the Memphis Country Club. Mrs. Sherman attended Idlewild Presbyterian Church where her father taught Sunday school. After her marriage, she and Mr. Sherman were actively involved at Second Presbyterian Church where she was a member of the Altar Guild, helping with flower arrangements in the Sanctuary. She will be greatly missed by her nephews and niece and their families: John Laughlin, A. E. (Ned) Laughlin, Jr., H. W. (Wis) Laughlin, III, all of Memphis, Felix B. Laughlin of Asheville, North Carolina, and Carol Crump Holcomb of Houston, Texas. She leaves ten great-nephews and nieces and twelve great-great-nephews and nieces. A funeral service will be held at 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, August 7, at Memorial Park Funeral Home.
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