Brenda DePriest, a longtime resident of Jackson, TN, passed away Sunday, Aug. 16 in Hendersonville, TN. She was 91.
She was born Jan. 14, 1935, to Jewel Harper Atkinson and Doyle Atkinson of Weakley County. She attended Martin City Schools.
Brenda took her first piano lessons at age 6. This love of music was a large part of who she was and what she accomplished. She received a bachelor’s degree in music at Union University and a master’s degree in music at the University of Memphis. In 1970 she retired from the faculty at Jackson State Community College as an Associate Professor of Music.
On June 20, 1954, she married Kenneth DePriest of Tiptonville. In 1958 they moved to Jackson, where they built a home on North Edenwood. Kenneth died in 2003, and Brenda moved to Hendersonville in 2013. They had two daughters, both born in Jackson – Lisa Morris (Dan) of Jackson and Laura Glover (Bedford) of Hendersonville. Brenda said her daughters were her finest achievement. Both daughters survive.
She leaves 5 grandchildren (the apples of her eye) — Army Captain A.J. Morris (Heather) of Hawaii, Becca Morris Carrington (Sam) of Jackson, John Ross Glover (Victoria) of Hendersonville, Dr. Ally Glover Wilander (Ben) of Nashville, and Grace Glover of Hendersonville. She also leaves 3 great grandchildren – Emma Morris, Elijah Glover, and Talia Carrington.
Gramma was always there to see each grandchild play their sport. No distance was too far when time came to see her boy or girl play!
Brenda leaves one sister, Rosalyn Smith (Thomas) of Tipton County; one niece, Valerie Smith (Dave Wittman) of Memphis; and two nephews, Thomas Smith III (Shannon) of Memphis, and Charley DePriest (Julie) of Ohio. Brenda was preceded in death by her husband, parents, and brother-in-law, Ross DePriest (Susan).
Brenda was an active member of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson and then in Hendersonville. She served as church organist in Jackson.
She served one year as president of the Jackson Symphony League and led a fundraiser that resulted in the League’s largest gift to the Symphony at that time. She was a member of the Evergreen Garden Club and Quid Nunc.
Brenda was a Tennessee Master Gardener, and in 2004 was named Outstanding Gardener of the Year. She and Kenneth’s award-winning garden was visited by many tour groups and was featured in both The Jackson Sun and The Commercial Appeal newspapers. The Appeal awarded it with a Garden of the Year title.
In Hendersonville she was a proud member of the General Jethro Sumner Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution.
Brenda had a passion for travel, and she and Kenneth saw the world. They visited six of the world’s seven continents together, and Brenda visited the seventh continent when she went to Antarctica on her 70th birthday. She eventually visited 125 countries and was a member of the Century Club. In 2008 she wrote a book about her travels titled, “Far Away Places, Memoir of the Journey.”
SERVICES: A visitation with family and friends will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, and from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 20,2026 in the Chapel of Arrington Funeral Directors in Jackson. Following Thursday’s visitation, a graveside service for family and friends will be held at 1:00 p.m. at Ridgecrest Cemetery, where she will be laid to rest beside her husband, Kenneth.
The family is requesting that memorial contributions be directed to the Alzheimer’s Association online at Alzheimer’s Association
