Janie Evangeline Murphree

  Janie Evangeline Murphree entered her life in her grandparent’s house in the Buffalo community of Humphreys County on November 8th, 1942 and left her earthly life on January 26th of this year.

    She was preceded in death by her mother, Olive Pearl Duncan Murphree,
her father, John Wilson Murphree, Sr., and a newborn brother who did not survive, a sister, Osa Priscilla Murphree Thweatt (married to Ronald Allen Thweatt). She is survived by one brother John Wilson Murphree, Jr., (married to Peggie Jo Miller), one niece, Emily Marie Thweatt Parman, and two nephews, Wade Allen Thweatt and John Gilbert Murphree, as well as two great nieces, Gracie Parman and Rachel Parman.

    Janie was born in her grandparents’ home in the Buffalo community in southern Humphreys County. She attended Buffalo’s two room Bodine Elementary School and graduated as Valedictorian from McEwen High School.  She graduated with a degree in chemistry from Vanderbilt University, for which she remained an academic and athletic supporter for the rest of her life.

     Janie’s professional life was divided into three parts: first in chemistry using her degree from Vanderbilt with Wyandotte Chemical Company in Michigan and as a teacher of chemistry at Brunswick High School in Gerogia. Second, she worked for Piedmont/US Airways until her position was moved; then she returned to college, getting her M.A. degree in Library Science and working in libraries in Tullahoma and Nashville, retiring as Associate Director of the Tennessee Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped on Capitol Hill in Nashville. She also spent a short time as a bus tour guide in various parts of the
United States.

   It was while Janie was at Piedmont/USA that she began her world travels, covering most of the countries of Europe, later, from Argentina around Cape Horn to Chile, from Hawaii to Alaska, and from Russia to India and Nepal to Egypt and Israel, a total of more than 40 countries, with more travel planned when she left us.

    Janie lived a full and successful life, leaving those of us who knew her to be blessed by her life and wonderfully happy to have known her, to whom we all  say, “Bon Voyage.”

    A Memorial Service for Janie will be held at the First United Methodist Church in McEwen, Tennessee on April 23rd at 2:00, with family members greeting those attending at 1:00.