Beatrice Ann Johnson McElroy passed away March 29, 2013, at her home in Rogersville, Ala., and was a lifelong resident of Pulaski, Tenn.
Mrs. McElroy, affectionately known as Beechie, is survived by her husband of 39 years, Elliott L. (Buddy) McElroy; daughters, Ann Randol Stephens, of Nashville, Tenn., and Sally Stephens Bergquist (Greg), of Birmingham, Ala.; grandchildren, John Randol Bergquist, of Rochester, Minn., Ann Bergquist Stevens (Craig), of Great Falls, Va., Sarah Parrish Bergquist, of Ann Arbor, Mich, and David Holmes Bergquist, of Charleston, S.C.; and great-grandchildren, Hannah Elizabeth Stevens and Emma Grace Stevens.
She is also survived by her stepchildren, Slade McElroy (Kim) of Montgomery, Ala., Susan McElroy Carter (Perry), of Marietta, Ga., Missy McElroy Waldrop (Murray), of Eden, N.C, and Deanna McElroy Hall (Morris), of Decatur, Ala.; and grandchildren, John Slade McElroy (Kelly), of Huntsville, Ala., Joel McElroy and Matthew McElroy, of Montgomery, Ala., and Kayla Maness and John Taylor Maness, of Decatur, Ala.
Beechie was preceded in death by her parents, Gertrude Maher Johnson and A. L. (Jack) Johnson and her husband of 26 years, John Randol (Happy) Stephens, who passed away in 1970.
Beechie was educated in Giles County, Tenn., and attended Stephens College in Columbia, Mo.
Along with her late husband, Happy Stephens, she owned and operated WKSR in Pulaski and established The Giles Free Press in 1961.
She and Buddy McElroy married in 1973. They owned and operated Allied Lawn Mower Company in Pulaski until their retirement.
In 1978, Beechie was the first woman elected to the board of directors of First National Bank of Pulaski. In 1981, she was also elected to the board of its holding company, First Pulaski National Corporation, positions she held for a total of 22 years.
Throughout her life, Beechie was prominent in many civic activities. She was a founding member of Hillcrest Country Club in Pulaski where she served for eight years on its board of directors and was the first woman to serve as President. She was the Giles County chairman for the American Cancer Society , later serving as a member of the board. In 1971, she and Buddy served as co-chairmen for the fund raising effort in Giles County for the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville.
She was a life member of Friends of Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. For three years, she was organizing chairman for 15 counties in middle Tennessee for the Palm Sunday Paper Drive to benefit the hospital. In 1980, she organized the Giles County Chapter, Friends of Children’s Hospital. At one time, she served as a member of the boards of Children’s Hospital in Nashville and Friends of Children’s Hospital statewide.
A communicant of Church of the Messiah, in Pulaski, she served as president of the
Women of the Church, was a member of the Altar Guild, and was the first of two women to be elected to the vestry in its 100 year history.
Beechie was a lifelong Democrat who actively worked in the campaigns of President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Senators Estes Kefauver, Albert Gore Sr., Albert Gore Jr., Ross Bass and Jim Sasser.
The family wishes to thank caregivers Diane Mosley, Myra Watkins, Shillar Sanders and the staff of Alacare Hospice, especially Becky Williams, for their devotion and care for Beechie throughout her illness.
Visitation will be 4-7 p.m. on April 1 at Bennett-May/Giles County Funeral Home in Pulaski. Services will be held at 11 a.m. on April 2 at Church of the Messiah, Episcopal. Burial will follow at Maplewood Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to: Church of the Messiah, Giles County
Library, Monroe Carell Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, or a charity of your choice .
[sam id=”9″ codes=”true”]
