Dorothy Sue Lovejoy

Dorothy Sue (Smith) Lovejoy died peacefully on Wednesday, October 1st. She was born in Meridian Mississippi on June 22, 1918, the daughter of Alvaretta McKee and the Reverend Joseph A Smith, pastor of First Methodist Church in Memphis from 1940 – 1943. She is preceded in death by her husband of 71 years, Dr. George S Lovejoy, a prominent pediatrician and Director of the Memphis and Shelby County Health Department, brothers Stewart Smith and Warren Smith, and aunts Lillian Smith and Annie Laurie Peeler.

Dorothy Sue graduated from Mississippi State College for Women in 1940 and taught third grade for 3 years, then married George Shannon Lovejoy. She will be remembered for her poise, abundant energy and organizational skills, and devotion to her family. Many of her activities revolved around St Luke’s Methodist Church where she was President of United Methodist Women, Director of the Joy Club for 40 years, and a Sunday School teacher for 10 years. Volunteer efforts in Memphis included assisting students at the Locke Elementary School in developing reading skills and serving as President of the Greenlawn Garden Club.

Dorothy Sue was also a talented artist. In her home studio, she created watercolor and oil paintings offered as welcome gifts to friends and family; at Kirby Pines Retirement Home, she crafted miniature flower arrangements and wrote poems for other residents.

She is survived by her three children: Sue Ellen Lovejoy of Longmeadow Massachusetts; Ann O’Connor and her husband, Greg of Knoxville Tennessee; Joe Lovejoy and his wife, Lenee of San Marcos Texas as well as five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren of whom she was very proud.

The family will receive friends on Friday October 10 from 5-7 p.m. at Memphis Funeral Home on Poplar Avenue. A funeral service will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday October 11 at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St Luke’s United Methodist Church or Kirby Pines Foundation Fund. Online condolences may be expressed at www.memphisfuneralhome.net