Mary Lillian Dykes Grindstaff, 89, of Elizabethton, Tenn., passed away Sunday, December 24, 2017, at Ivy Hall Nursing Home following an extended illness. A native of Washington County, Tenn., she was the daughter of the late Load E. and Effie Townsend Dykes.
Mrs. Grindstaff retired as a dietician at the V.A. Medical Center. She was a charter member of Southside Freewill Baptist Church where she served as church pianist for 65 years. She enjoyed spending time with her family.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Jay Fred Grindstaff; two sons-in-law, Richard Bradley and Bill Skeans; eight brothers and four sisters.
Those left to cherish her memory include a son, David Fred Grindstaff and wife Cathy; two daughters, Judy Lillian Skeans and Sonya Nyoka Bradley, all of Elizabethton; five grandchildren, Alan Skeans, Wesley Bradley, Jonathan Grindstaff, Erin Weatherford and Chad Grindstaff; six great-grandchildren; one great-great-granddaughter; and a brother-in-law, Richard Grindstaff, Elizabethton. Several nieces and nephews including special nieces, Norma Myers, Gail Myers and Becky Wilson, also survive.
A service to honor the life of Mary Lillian Dykes Grindstaff will be conducted at 7 p.m. Thursday, December 28, in the Sunset Chapel of Hathaway-Percy Funeral and Cremation Services with Rev. Steve Burleson and Rev. Raymond W. Amos Sr. officiating. Eulogies will be given by Wesley Bradley and Chasity Skeans. Music will be under the direction of Mr. David Arney, Ryan Jay Weatherford and Eddie Blevins. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, prior to the funeral service, or at the residence of a daughter, Sonya Bradley, at other times. The graveside service and interment will be conducted at 11 a.m. Friday, December 29, in the New Victory Baptist Church Cemetery, Jonesborough. Active pallbearers will be Wesley Bradley, Jonathan Grindstaff, Chad Grindstaff, Alan Skeans, Jeff Weatherford and Jeff Dykes. Honorary pallbearers will be all nephews and nieces. Everyone will meet at the funeral home at 10 a.m. Friday to go in procession to the cemetery. The family would like to express a special thank you to the doctors, nurses and staff of Ivy Hall Nursing Home for their loving care to Mrs. Grindstaff. Online condolences may be sent to the family and viewed by visiting our website at www.hathawaypercy.com.
Hathaway-Percy Funeral and Cremation Services is serving the Grindstaff family. Office: (423) 543-5544.