George Perry Tyree, 79, passed away at his home in Ripley, Tennessee, on March 16, 2024, after an extended illness. Visitation will be from 9am – 11am on Saturday March 23, 2024, at Ripley First United Methodist Church, with the service at 11am, Donna Parramore and Philip Jackson will be officiating. A luncheon/reception will follow at noon. Burial will be at 3:30pm at Oakland Cemetery in Trenton, Tennessee.
Mr. Tyree graduated from Peabody High School in Trenton, Tennessee in 1962. While attending Peabody, he excelled in multiple sports and was selected to All-West Tennessee and All-State football teams. He joined the Gibson County Sports Hall of Fame in 2022.
Mr. Tyree majored in Industrial Management at the Georgia Institute of Technology and graduated in 1966. He was a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity.
His manufacturing career spanned thirty-four years beginning at US Steel in Birmingham, Alabama, and retiring from AO Smith in Ripley, Tennessee. He spent most of his professional years in the Special Products Division of Emerson Electric Company.
Mr. Tyree was active in the Rotary Clubs of Brownsville and Ripley, Tennessee. He was a Commissioner of the Ripley Housing Authority for over seventeen years, being named Tennessee Association of Housing and Redevelopment Authorities’ Commissioner of the Year in 2022. A lifelong Methodist, he served on numerous committees, sang in the Chancel Choir, played in the Hand Bell Choir, coordinated traffic for Bags of Hope, and was a member of the Covenant Sunday School Class. His involvement with the West Tennessee Emmaus Community led to participation in his Friday Emmaus Covenant Group. He also enjoyed his involvement with the Thursday Prayer Group in Brownsville, Tennessee.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert W. Tyree and Mary Helen Perry Tyree, and his brother, Bob Tyree. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Judy Underwood Tyree; his daughters, Georgianne Tyree and Mary Grace Reed (Kevin) of Dickson, Tennessee; his grandsons, Andrew Reed (Emilie) of Foley, Alabama and John Perry Reed of Lyles, Tennessee; a granddaughter, Lainey Reed of Dickson, Tennessee; and a great granddaughter, Charlie Reed.
Pallbearers are Redgy Ross, Mike Poteete, Robert Tyree, Andrew Reed, Don Ammons, and Lee Johnston. Honorary pallbearers are the Covenant Sunday School Class and the Friday Covenant Group.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Ripley First United Methodist Church, 145 South Main Street, Ripley, Tennessee 38063.
