In Loving Memory of Kathrine Amona Blackwood (Mona) a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who passed away on May 1, 2024. Mona was born November 30, 1945, to Mr. and Mrs. James Leroy Gilliland. She graduated from Westside High School where she was chosen Most Beautiful, Most Popular and May Queen. She was a pillar of strength and faith, exemplifying unwavering devotion to her Christian beliefs throughout her life. Mona is survived by her husband, two daughters and their families.
Mona loved and shared her faith through her testimony and works, working in her early years at the Blackwood Brothers Record shop and later for the Blackwood Brothers Quartet who spread the gospel through song.
Mona cherished her role as a mother raising two wonderful daughters. She found joy and fulfillment in nurturing and guiding them with love and wisdom. Known affectionately as Meme to her family, her devotion extended throughout as she showered her grandchildren and great grandchildren with love and care. Her home is filled with memories, in which her grandchildren enjoyed decades of made-from-scratch breakfasts, summertime swimming, and outdoor adventure. In the winter, it didn’t feel like Christmas until Meme put her presents underneath her signature white, flocked Christmas tree.
Her life was a testament to the power of faith, as she faced challenges, finding solace and strength in her relationship with God.
One of the families most fond memories was when the grandchildren would leave, Meme could always be found performing her “funny dance” in the driveway to send them off with a smile. We know Jesus smiled when she funny danced into heaven. Her legacy of love, faith, and devotion will continue to live on in the hearts of her family and friends. She will be dearly missed but forever remembered for the love she shared and the faith she lived.
Services will be private. The family would ask if donations would be made in lieu of flowers or gifts to the Memphis Teen Challenge Ministry 33 N. Cleveland St, Memphis, TN 38104.
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