2nd Timothy 4:7: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, and I have kept the faith.”
Marie Ward Shanks, 90, of Johnson City, went home to be with her Lord, Wednesday, June 22, 2016, at the Christian Care Center after a brief illness.\
A native of Butler, she was a daughter of the late Selmer Scott and Cora Eller Ward. She had lived most of her life in Elizabethton.
Marie was a graduate of The Watauga Academy. She was retired from the East Tennessee Undergarment Factory. Until her illness Marie was very active in her church, Lynn Valley Baptist Church, where she was a member of the choir. Marie, along with her very special friend, Louise Puckett, were overseers in the kitchen at Lynn Valley for many years. She sang with a trio for many years, going to different churches in East Tennessee.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, William “Bill” Shanks, March 11, 2004; a brother, Glen Ward; and a sister, Betty Cannon.
Survivors include a son, Gary Swift, Jonesborough; a daughter, Gail Swift Trotter, Pelzer, S.C.; her brother, Robert Ward, Butler; and her church family, especially the choir.
A service to celebrate the life of Marie will be conducted at 4 p.m. Saturday, June 25, at Memorial Funeral Chapel with the Rev. Dennis Wilson officiating. Music will be provided by the Lynn Valley Baptist Church Choir. Interment will follow in the Oak Hill Cemetery, Johnson City. Active pallbearers will be the Deacons of Lynn Valley Baptist Church. Honorary pallbearers will be the graduates of Watauga Academy. The family would like to express a special “Thank You” to the staff of The Christian Care Center. The family will receive friends from 3 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home. Condolences may be sent to the family at our website at www.memorialfcelizabethton.com.
Memorial Funeral Chapel is serving the Shanks family.