May Burnette

May Burnette Nashville, TN age 86, passed away July 23, 2016. She retired from Sears after 35 years of service.Preceded in death by her husband, Pete Burnette.She is survived by her daughters, Sandy Calvin (Brownie) and Suzy Yeik (John); brother, Weldon Brown Jr.; sister, Betty Burns (John); 4 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren; Jim Derryberry.A funeral service will be conducted at 12pm Tuesday, July 26, 2016 with Bro. Wavell Stewart officiating at Eastland Funeral Home . Burial will follow at Woodlawn Memorial Park.Visitation with the family will be held Monday from 2pm until 8pm and Tuesday from 10am until 12pm at the funeral home.Memorial contributions may be made to Alive Hospice.

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To say May Burnette lived a full life is only part of her beautiful story. Not only did she live a full life, she lived life to the fullest. By embracing solid core beliefs in values throughout her life, she was able live a life she could enjoy. Additionally, she blessed the many lives around her just by setting an example of a strong Southern woman.

Her first core belief was seeking and putting God first, in everything. She devoted her life to God and sought out her church no matter where she lived. For most of her life she attended Crieve Hall Church of Christ in Tennessee. When she moved to Okechobee, FL during winters for more than 20 years she regularly attended Okechobee Church of Christ. While living with her daughter, Suzy, and son-in-law, John, her final home church was the Highland Heights Church of Christ in Lebanon, TN which she greatly enjoyed.

Second, May cherished her family. May came from a large family, growing up with 7 children, her parents and an uncle living together under one roof. Her daughter, Sandy, has many fond memories growing up with so many family members around her. This even inspired her at the precious age of 8 years-old to express to May that she wanted 10 children. While May was unsure of who would care for all these children at the time, Sandy was sure her and her mother could take care of them all. (While Sandy was blessed with two beautiful children, being the smart woman that he is, May never brought up her desire for 8 more children.)

At one time, May's family lived on a large farm in Williamson County, TN where they had horses, cows, chickens and pigs to take care of in addition to the many family members who lived on the farm. That time living with family led to her core belief in her own family and enjoyment in taking care of her family members as she grew older.

Another main core value May lived her life by was hard work. Growing up with so many family members and living on a farm, it goes without saying there are many things that needed to get done and that taught May to be a strong, hard-working woman. She spent 30+ years employed by the Sears corporation. She began with Sears in the Smoke Shop on LaFayette Street of Nashville and later moved on to ladies fashion, then to the sales floor for merchandise at the Thompson Lane location.

Embracing her main core values of life, May became a very independent woman and developed an interest in many things. She was an avid golfer after spending many years golfing with her husband Pete. She loved shopping, sewing, and traveling. May traveled to almost every state in the United States, including Hawaii. She also traveled across the world to places such as Australia and climbed the mountains of New Zealand.

While we know May is having a glorious time in Heaven, we will miss her here on earth until we meet again.

Preceeded in death by:

Weldon and Edna Parrish Brown - Parents

Pete Burnette - Husband

Juanita Dillehay and Barbara Dixon - Sisters

Claude Brown and Johnnie Brown - Brothers

Survived by:

Sandy Calvin (Brownie) Daughter

Suzy Yeik (John) Daughter

Weldon Brown, Jr. Brother

Betty Burns (John) Sister

Grandchildren:

Stacy Davis (Chance)

Christian Calvin (Mailynne)

Jason Smith

Justin Smith (Maureen)

Great-grandchildren:

Cheyenne Davis

Haley Smith

Abbey Smith

Presley Calvin

Kelson Smith

Chrislynne Calvin

Sloan Calvin

Skye Calvin

In lieu of flowers please send donations to Alive Hospice.