Tommie Pardue went to be with the Lord on March 5, 2020. Tommie was a member of Kingsway Christian Church. She asked Jesus into her heart at an early age and lived her life honoring Him with the gift of music.
Tommie earned her bachelor’s degree at University of Tennessee, Knoxville and her master’s in music from Memphis State University.
She spent both her career and retirement working in music education. Tommie was a former supervisor of music instruction for Memphis City Schools. Tommie still loved those who were in her classroom at Alcy Elementary School and all of the piano teachers and choral music directors she supervised. She continued to keep them and many students in her life by making them part of Christmas choir event at The Peabody that she ran from 1981 to 2019.
Her second career as a special events consultant kept her in the heart of music-related organizations for the rest of her life. Tommie served on the boards of the Tennessee Arts Academy, Memphis and Shelby County Film and Television Commission, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Grammys in the Schools, the Germantown Performing Arts Center, WUMR jazz radio station, and as a founding member of the Dave Brubeck Institute of Jazz in Stockton, Calif., to name a few. She was honored with lifetime achievement awards from many of the organizations she worked with and several others as well. She was named one of 50 Women Who Make a Difference from Memphis Woman magazine and honored by Northwood University’s Distinguished Women Awards. She was appointed Tennessee Ambassador of Goodwill by Governor Lamar Alexander. She was elected to the Amro Music Educator Walk of Fame.
Tommie also served on some non-music boards including the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary, the English-Speaking Union of the United States, and The Josephine Circle.
Her great love of jazz music led her to friendships with acclaimed pianist and composer Dave Brubeck, the famous conductor Leonard Bernstein as well as actor Clint Eastwood.
Her dear friends Joan and Arnold Weiss spent many great times with Tommie and summed up her life beautifully, “Tommie was everyone’s best friend. Life was one big party for her. She loved to entertain and be entertained. She loved to play her piano, dance, sing and laugh.”
Tommie maintained friendships with those from her Messick High School days through her last days on earth.
Preceded in death by her husband, H. Gerald (Jerry) Pardue, Tommie leaves her daughters, Janie Charles, Cherrie Holden (Rich), Rhea Swaze (Billy); two granddaughters, Melissa Combs and Blair Swaze; two grandsons, Richard Holden, and Ben Holden (Tia), two great granddaughters, Allie-Grace Combs and Ainsley Schoggen. She also leaves her brother, David C. Perdue.
Visitation will be held Sunday, March 8 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Memphis Funeral Home 5599 Poplar Ave. Funeral services will be held Monday, March 9 at 11:00 a.m. at Kingsway Christian Church 7887 Poplar Ave.
The family asks any donations in her name be made to Brubeck Living Legacy, The Josephine Circle or Kingsway Christian Church.
