Obit – Mrs. Ann McCall Eatherly
Mrs. Ann McCall Eatherly of the Watervale Community died Saturday afternoon May 13, 2023 at her Cedar Rock Lane home following an extended illness. She was pronounced deceased at 12:54 p.m. at the age of 86 by Gentiva Hospice of Cookeville who had been lovingly assisting the family with her care.
Mrs. Eatherly is at the Carthage Chapel of Sanderson Funeral Home. Graveside services and interment was held Thursday afternoon May 18th at 1 p.m. in the Garden of Everlasting Life at the Smith County Memorial Gardens with her pastor, Bro. Tim Frank officiating. Burial followed beside her husband.
The Eatherly family received friends at Sanderson in Carthage only on Thursday May 18th from 11 a.m. until leaving in procession at 12:45 p.m.
She was the youngest of three children, one son and two daughters born to the late John Alexander McCall Sr. who died December 26, 1962 at the age of 58 and Clara Lillian Manning McCall who died December 23, 1997 at the age of 89 and was born Clara Ann McCall in a log cabin on the McCall family farm on County House Circle in the Watervale Community on October 16, 1936.
Two siblings preceded her in death, John Alexander (John A.) McCall Jr who died at the age of 77 on May 24, 2008 and Lucy Lola McCall Knight who died at the age of 83 on June 16, 2010.
Mrs. Eatherly was a member of the 1954 graduating class at Smith County High School where she majored in home economics, was elected football queen her senior year, was F.H.A. president her junior year, song leader her senior year, F.H.A. queen her senior year, attended the State F.H.A. convention her freshman and junior years and her senior year represented the State of Tennessee at the National Future Homemakers of America convention held in Columbus, Ohio where she roomed at the Deshler-Wallick Hotel and got to see President Harry S. Truman.
In addition to being a member of the office staff her senior year, she was selected by her class mates as the “Best All Around Girl” in addition to being a member of the music club, the band and the dramatic club her second and fourth years and was also a member of the junior play cast.
Mrs. Eatherly was united in marriage at the then new Carthage First Baptist Church Parsonage on Jackson Avenue in Carthage on October 5, 1955 to her high school sweetheart, Howard Anthony Eatherly of the Flatrock Community, who preceded her in death at the age of 70 on August 3, 2006 following a brief battle with pancreatic cancer and following almost fifty three years of marriage.
The wedding ceremony was officiated by then church pastor, Bro. Parrish.
Mrs. Eatherly has been a member of the First Baptist Church in Carthage where she accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as her personal Savior and was baptized as a 13 year old young lady.
She had always attended there except while she and her husband were on a construction job in Jacksonville, Florida.
They returned to the Watervale Community from Jacksonville, Florida in 1972 to again worship at the church where she was saved and was a member when she married the love of her life.
While residing in Jacksonville Mr. and Mrs. Eatherly were members of the Highland Baptist Church and together they were chairpersons of the nursery department at Highland Baptist.
Most of her married life she was a homemaker but earlier in addition to homemaking, she was employed as a bookkeeper at the Smith Farmers Co-op.
Surviving are Mrs. Ann’s three children, Cynthia Eatherly Stickney of the Hogans Creek Community, Dwight Eatherly of the Watervale Community, Rock City-Rome Fire Department Chief, David Eatherly and wife Christy Wilkerson Eatherly of the Rock City Community; eight grandchildren, Nathan, Byron, and Jacob Stickney, Sarah Eatherly Dallaire, Amanda Eatherly, Kelsy, Kasey and Kayla Eatherly; eleven great-grandchildren.
The Eatherly family requests memorials to the Carthage First Baptist Church.
SANDERSON of CARTHAGE