Jo Anne (Gay) Hambrick went to be with her Lord and Savior on May 12, 2017. She was born August 15, 1938, in Nashville, TN, to Clifton Otis and Anita (Potter) Gay, and was the fourth of eleven children. She married her life-long love, Kenneth Hambrick, on April 23, 1955.
She loved learning and reading, and though she left school early to help her large family, she persevered and got her GED in 1974. She taught herself typing and learned accounting, and later joined the Accounts Payable staff of APCOM, Inc. where she worked for many years. She was very proud of balancing the books to the last penny.
There was no better Southern cook. She showed her intense love for her family, in part, by making the best fried chicken, chicken and dumplings and banana pudding for miles around. Her tiny kitchen was warm and busy, and filled with music as she sang while she cooked, her alto voice ringing out with hymns or the latest song that her beloved Grassland Heights Baptist Church choir was preparing for Sunday service. She considered her choir and church to be family, and performing in the Easter musical, “Behold the Lamb,” was a favorite.
Jo Anne and Kenneth enjoyed playing golf together and long road trips traveling with Kenneth’s sisters and brothers-in-law. Jo Anne loved babies, and enjoyed baking Christmas cookies and riding on the golf cart with her grandchildren. Though Alzheimer’s robbed her of memories in her later years, it did not take away her joy or her contagious smile. The family would like to especially thank Lydia Shrader and the staff of Aspen Arbor at NHC Cool Springs for their loving care.
Preceded in death by husband, Kenneth Hambrick; parents, Otis Clifton and Anita Potter Gay; brothers, Clifton Otis “Sonny” Gay, Jack Russell Gay, Kenneth Wayne Gay and Terry Lee Gay and sister, Jeanette June Wilbur. Survived by: son, Randy (Judy) Hambrick; daughters, Sandy Brownett and Melissa (Bill) Dick; brothers, Thomas Leslie (Mary) Gay, Jerry Ronald Gay and Harry Herman (Pat) Gay; sisters, Evelyn Elaine Vaughn and Molly Patricia (Brent) Denney; seven grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be conducted 11:00 AM on Monday, May 15, 2017, at Williamson Memorial Funeral Home, Rusty Trotter officiating. Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association. Visitation will be Sunday, 6-8 PM, and 9-11 AM prior to the service on Monday at WILLIAMSON MEMORIAL FUNERAL HOME, 615 794-2289. www.williamsonmemorial.com
