Jerridyne Rayner Sanders

Family and friends deeply mourn the passing of our beloved Jerridyne Rayner Sanders, born March 5, 1944, in Memphis, Tennessee, to the late Jerry and Lillie B. Rayner. Affectionately known as “Jerri”, she graduated from Hamilton High School and went on to join the United States Air Force November 18, 1964, where she served as a medic. Upon her return to civilian life, she parlayed her military and medical training into a nursing career that spanned more than 50 years of licensure and many joyful years of delivering health and healing to countless patients. During this time, she also joined the United States Postal Service where she served as a mail handler at the Memphis Bulk Mail Center for 28 years.

A gifted bible scholar, Jerri accepted Jesus Christ at an early age. She worshipped under the guidance of Bishop Samuel Smith, founder and pastor of Southside Church of God in Christ in Memphis, Tennessee, where she reared her children, Christopher and Daphne. A loving mother, Jerri took great care to nurture her children’s physical, intellectual and spiritual development. A talented “scratch cook,” her cakes and peach pies were legendary. A self-educated scholar, Jerri was a bibliophile of the highest order who surrounded herself and her children with books and always touted the virtues of wisdom and knowledge.

Jerri departed this life Friday, May 20, 2022, at 11:45 a.m. at Baptist Memorial Hospital - East in Memphis, Tennessee, with her daughter at her bedside. She is preceded in death by her husband, Edward Sanders; father, Jerry; mother, Lillie; and sister, Jennifer Rayner. She is survived by her son, Christopher Sean Sanders and daughter, Daphne Judith Thomas, both of Memphis, Tennessee; her sisters Ms. Joyce Rayner and Ms. Sherre Ann Williams of Memphis, Tennessee; Ms. Jacquelyn Rayner Catchings of Los Angeles, California; and Ms. Juanda F. Rayner of Atlanta, Georgia; her grandchildren Ahmad Rashad Sanders and Caleb Edward Sanders; nine great-grandchildren, two great, great-grandchildren, and a host of relatives and friends.

A visitation for Jerridyne will be held Thursday, May 26, 2022 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM at M. J. Edwards Funeral Home, 1165 Airways Blvd., Memphis, Tennessee 38114. A funeral service will occur Friday, May 27, 2022 at 11:00 AM, 1165 Airways Blvd., Memphis, Tennessee 38114. A burial will occur Friday, May 27, 2022 at 1:00 PM at Memphis National Cemetery, 3568 Townes Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee 38122.