Rose Mary (Partain) Anderson

Rose Mary Partain Anderson, resident of the Arlington Community and wife of Larry Minter Anderson, Sr. died Sunday morning, January 15, 2012 at the Methodist LeBonheur Hospital in Germantown where she had been a patient for three days. She was 81 years of age and died following an extended illness.

Services of Remembrance for Mrs. Anderson were conducted at 6:30 P.M. Thursday, January 19th at Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis with Rev. Jim Whitmire of the church officiating. He was assisted by Dr. Joe Jernigan of the church. A Private Family Interment was in the Arlington Cemetery in Arlington, TN. Arrangements were provided by Peebles Fayette County Funeral Homes and Cremation Center — West Chapel of Oakland.

Rose Mary was born in the small town of Ione, Arkansas, where she lived with her parents and eight siblings. Her education started in a one room school house where she began first grade at the age of four. She graduated from high school whens he was fifteen and from college at the age of nineteen. Her education included an M.A. degree in Education from the University of Memphis and 29 hours past Master’s. She married Larry M. Anderson, the love of her life, on June 1, 1952, and they had two children – Larry and Mary Lea.

A strong work ethic and a love of music were present in Rose Mary from an early age. She enrolled in piano lessons at the age of five, and began work as a legal secretary at the age of twelve. Always dedicated to teaching music to young people, she went on to work in music education at First Baptist, Dewitt, AR, Trinity Baptist in Memphis and Cherokee Baptist in Memphis. She taught in the Memphis City School System for 24 years and at Crichton College for 7 years, becoming the Director of Choral Activities there.

While she was working for Memphis City Schools at Kingsbury, she was the first person to introduce “Dinner Theater” productions to the school system and took her high school choral groups to national music competitions. A longtime member of Bellevue Baptist Church, Rose Mary was highly involved with the choir and music ministry. She also directed a young adult ensemble, “Praise” for almost 20 years.

Rose Mary had many varied interests including having a great competitive spirit. She would readily challenge family members to games of table tennis during family gatherings. It is little known that she made the All State Basketball team in high school and played varsity tennis in college. An avid gardener, she tended to fruit trees, flowers (red roses were her favorite), and the large family garden that was the source of many a meal during the summer. She loved outdoors and would gladly spend an afternoon fishing with the grandkids at the family pond.

Her greatest love was music and she passed this love to her children and grandchildren, spending hours privately working with each one developing his or her musical ability.

Rose Mary’s legacy is one of love and dedication. All that she did throughout her life, she did to her fullest and it is reflected in each of the lives she impacted. Never to be replaced and never to be replicated, she is unique and beloved. She is a winderful example of a Christian wife, mother, grandmother, mentor and friend. While she will be greatly missed, she is in Heaven now singing with the angels and the saints doing what she loved most, praising Jesus.

In addition to her husband, Mrs. Anderson is survived by her daughter, Mary Lea Tucker of Arlington; her son, Larry M. Anderson, Jr. (Pam) of Arlington; her brother, J. Blake Partain of Tulsa, OK; and nine grandchildren, Josh Tucker of Memphis, Becca Tucker Babb of Memphis, Larry Anderson, III of Bartlett, Christen Tucker Bresnahan of Dallas, TX, Mollie Anderson Tatum of Memphis, David Anderson of Arlington, Jesse Anderson of Arlington, Rose Emily Anderson of Arlington; and five great grandchildren.

The family requests that memorials be directed to the Love Worth Finding Ministries with Adrian Rogers, P.O. Box 38300, Memphis, TN 38183-0300.