Ann Miriam Shanks Gwaltney passed away peacefully on Monday, February 27 at Summit Medical Center in Hermitage, Tennessee, surrounded by her family. Miriam was born on June 16, 1927, to the late Luke and Dona Boyd Shanks of Buffalo Valley, Tn. Miriam is preceded in death by her beloved husband Bill Gwaltney of Old Hickory, Tn, and her sister Carolyn Huddleston, of Buffalo Valley. Miriam and Bill were married on July 12, 1948.
Miriam is survived by her brother George Shanks of Baxter, Tn; son, William (Myrna) Gwaltney, Jr of Parrish, Florida; daughter, Margaret Ann Moore of Old Hickory, Tn; four loving grandchildren: Chris Gwaltney of Murfreesboro, Tn; Nicole Wilson of Murfreesboro, Tn; Alicia (Joe) Burns of Mt Juliet, Tn and Aimee (Jason) Parrish of Hendersonville, Tn. She is also survived by eight great-grandchildren: Brandon (Love) Gwaltney and Nicolas Gwaltney of Akron, Ohio; Katherine Wilson of Murfreesboro, Tn; Alex Burns, Ella Burns and Reese Burns of Mt Juliet, Tn; Ben Parrish and Sam Parrish of Hendersonville, Tn; and two great-great grandsons, Darwin Gwaltney and Percy Gwaltney of Akron, Ohio.
Miriam was a graduate of Baxter Seminary in Baxter, Tn and Tennessee Polytechnic Institute (now Tennessee Technological University) in Cookeville, Tn). She was a retired schoolteacher from Metro Nashville, and a long-time member of the MNEA. One of Miriam’s life-long hobbies’ and interests was genealogy and she contributed several articles, scrapbooks, and items of interest to the Tennessee State Museum. She was also a long-time member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and an Honorary Kentucky Colonel. She enjoyed traveling with Bill and undertook trips through-out the United States, as well as journeys to England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy, Canada and Japan during their lifetimes. Miriam and Bill were long-time residents of Old Hickory, Tn, being the first family to move into the Brandywine Farms subdivision in 1964, having lived In the Old Hickory Village for several years before that. Miriam and Bill were both life-long members of the Old Hickory United Methodist Church.
A service for Miriam will be held at the Gordonsville Chapel of the Bass Funeral Home on Friday, March 3, at 12:00 noon with the Rev. Kay Hereford officiating. Visitation with the family will be held before the service from 11:00am until 12 noon at the Chapel. Miriam will be laid to rest immediately following the service in the Gordonsville Cemetery, next to Bill.
Active pallbearers will be Brandon Gwaltney, Nicolas Gwaltney, Jason Parrish, Joe Burns, Mike Huddleston and Don Huddleston.
Special thanks for Miriam’s care over the last few years are given to Donna England, Shannon Driver, Daphney Grisham, Denise Butler, Barbara Campbell, Florita Sharpless and Cecilia Keith at McKendree Manor in Hermitage. Addition thanks are given to Alive Hospice.
