Anna Ruth Presley

Celebration of Life Services for Anna Ruth Presley, age 99, of Monterey, Tennessee, were conducted on Sunday, August 25, 2024, at 2:00 PM at the Monterey Church of The Nazarene. Rev. Billy Jones and Rev. Kevin Thomas officiated and interment followed in the Whittaker Cemetery. The family received friends at Goff Funeral Home on Saturday, August 24, 2024, from 4:00 PM until 7:00 PM and at Monterey Church of the Nazarene on Sunday, August 25, 2024, for the Celebration of Life Services at 2:00 PM. Anna Ruth Presley was born on Tuesday, March 24, 1925, in Monterey, Tennessee, to the late Shirley Hedrick Matheney and Pearlie Belle Whittaker Matheney. She passed away on Friday, August 23, 2024, at her home. She was survived by her children, 2 sons & daughters-in law, Donald Ray (Cathy) Presley, Steve (Gloria) Presley; 2 daughters and sons-in law, Gail (Rev. Billy) Jones, Sharon (Eugene) Buckner; 9 grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of almost 57 years, Donald W. Presley; brothers, Dewey Matheney, Tom Matheney, Cordell Matheney, and infant, Clarence Matheney; sisters, Willie Pearl Snodderly, Verna Morgan, and Mollie Matthews. Anna grew up in Monterey and often regaled her children with tales of running through the woods and on the railroad tracks that ran through “Matheney Town” accompanied by her older brothers and her oldest sister, Willie. Her children have determined that she was a bit of a daredevil as well as an adventurer before she settled down as a married woman. She graduated Monterey High School on May 14, 1944, and remembered that day as “more like a funeral than a graduation because all but two of the boys in the class had gone to war. Each name was called, and everyone cried throughout the ceremony.” Even in her battle with dementia, she fondly recalled memories of her best friend, Josephine Whittaker, wondering where she was now. As a young woman, she traveled alone to Ohio to take care of her newborn nephew Jack. Upon her return home, she worked at the Monterey Hosiery Mill, and then during WWII at Oak Ridge National Laboratory Y-12 plant, as a Calutron girl separating the uranium to build the bomb. Then on August 22, 1948, she and Donald eloped to Ringgold, Georgia. They returned home married, but did not tell anyone for 3 days. Her father-in-law guessed the secret and confronted her and Donald. Her in-laws were very happy to welcome her into their family, building a committed and devoted relationship with them, and she would become their caregiver in their later years. She and Donald worked side-by-side to build their “little white house”, planting and harvesting their gardens and cornfields, and teaching their children the value of a hard day’s work and a good night’s rest. Once her 4 children were in school, she went to work at Monterey Uffelman Elementary School as a cook, daily preparing desserts for 400+ students and employees. She later became the cafeteria manager until retirement. She could make anything taste good. She was an accomplished seamstress, quilter, cook, caretaker, and an avid reader until her eyesight deteriorated and Dementia and Parkinson’s greatly affected her day-to-day activities. She knew how to do many of the arts of her generation such as canning, freezing, making soap, drying fruit for her delicious fried pies or 7-layer stack cake. No one makes chicken and dumplings as good as Gran does and she was an expert at making “real cornbread” from freshly ground cornmeal. The secret of course is “a pinch of this, and a pinch of that” and a well-seasoned cast iron skillet. She greatly enjoyed preparing food and feeding her family or the unexpected guest. Above all other things, she was a Christian and lived a life reflective of Christ in all she said and did. As a member of the Monterey Church of the Nazarene, she served many years as a children’s SS teacher, nursery worker, and missionary society secretary. One of her greatest concerns was that all her children and their spouses, her grandchildren, and great grandchildren were saved and ready to go to heaven. She read and studied her Bible faithfully. After she was unable to read it herself, she would have Sharon read it to her and of course, she enjoyed “attending church” with her son Steve on Sunday mornings (Charles Stanley on TV). Her family have been amazed that even when her memory was at its worst, she could sing her favorite hymns- word for word. She even taught them a few new ones- their favorite being “Railway to Heaven”. “Her children arise and call her blessed” truly describes how we feel about our Mom and Granny!

Anna Ruth Presley

March 24, 1925 - August 23, 2024