Louise Petty

She was born Nov. 24, 1931, and raised on the family farm in Mason Hall, the second of six children born to Mary Jessup and Joel Raines Hurt. She felt loved and nurtured in this hard-working, close-knit, small farming community. In 1948 she graduated salutatorian of her high school class. She attended the University of Tennessee at Martin for two years, where she met Robert Lee Petty, whom she married in August 1952.
They had three children — Bruce, Lynn and Cheryl — and settled after several years in Covington.
 After Bob’s death in 1973, Louise remained near Bruce and his family in Covington. When Bruce died in 2012, Louise moved to Magnolia Place in Union City and, more recently, to Grand Prairie, Texas, to be near Cheryl. She died there on June 13, 2016, and will be buried beside Bob at New Salem Baptist Church in Mason Hall.
Her proudest accomplishments are being elected Tennessee state president of Jaycettes, seeing all her children graduate college after Bob’s death, serving 20 years as secretary of First Baptist Church in Covington and advocating for WMU organization of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Her parents; her husband; her brothers, Joe Hurt Jr., George Hurt and Robert Curtis Hurt; and her son, Bruce Lee Petty, predeceased Louise.
She is survived by her sister, Ann Abbott of Rutherford; her brother, Jimmy Hurt of Union City; her daughters Lynn, (Alan) Weltzien of Dillon, Mont., and Cheryl (David) Baker of Grand Prairie; and her grandchildren, Amy Lee Petty of Missoula, Mont.; Melinda Dianne Myer of Yangon, Myanmar; Alec Mory Weltzien of Washington, D.C.; Joel Robert Weltzien of Missoula and Robert Gordon Stamper of College Station, Texas. In addition, she is survived by her step-grandchildren, Zach Baker (Nicole) and Nick Baker (Colleen), all of San Marcos, Texas, DeAnna Parker (Beau) of Cypress, Texas, and BreAnna Ronnander (Chris) of The Woodlands, Texas. These grandchildren brought seven great-grandchildren to the family, to her delight.
Visitation will be 6:30-8:30 p.m. Friday at White-Ranson Funeral Home. Services will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday at New Salem Baptist Church in Mason Hall.  
Memorials may be sent to the New Salem Baptist Church Cemetery Fund, the National Alzheimer’s Association Research Fund, or the charity of the donor’s choice.
Condolences may be sent to the family at the funeral home website: www.white-ranson.com.