Monya Sanders
Mrs. Monya Sanders, 97, of Troy passed away on Dec. 25, 2025, at The Arbors in Union City.
Services will be noon Monday, Dec. 29, at Troy Methodist Church. Burial will follow at Terrace Hill Cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the church from 11 a.m. until the hour of service Monday.
Pallbearers will be Graham Smith, Spenser Maloney, Dwight Gregory, Clay Gregory, Larry Albright and Paul Albright. Honorary pallbearer will be Lyn Maloney.
She was born June 1, 1928, in Murray, Ky., as the daughter of the late L. E. and Lucille Maloney. After she graduated from Cloverdale School, she received a Bachelor of Arts from Lambuth College, and then a Master of Arts from Scarritt College for Christian Workers.
She married James Baxter Sanders on Aug. 1, 1953. He passed away on Aug. 16, 2012. She was an employee for over 30 years for the Obion County School System, where she began as a teacher and eventually retired as the Supervisor of Instruction. She was an active member of the Obion County-Union City Retired Teachers’ Association as well as Delta Kappa Gamma, an international honorary society for women educators.
Monya was a Christian, and a proud and active member of Troy Methodist Church for 70 years, where she served in various roles and on numerous committees. She was a prolific letter writer, sending many notes of appreciation, get-well wishes and encouragements to others. In fact, if you sent Monya a note, she’d probably send you a note in return, thanking you for the original note. She was very devoted to her husband and family.
She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Mike and Sherry (Clift) Sanders of Troy; her daughter and son-in-law, Paula and Tim Smith of Troy; three grandchildren, Graham Sanders Smith of Troy, Kacee Sanders of Nashville and Jodee Sanders Boldt of Homer, Alaska; four great-grandchildren, Bennet Reynolds of Nashville and Osmund, Einar and Iris Boldt of Homer, Alaska; and several nieces and nephews.
Along with her parents, she was preceded in death by her brother, Gates (JoAnn) Maloney; her sister, Wanda (Joseph) Fleming; and her sister-in-law, Rubye (Jimmy) English.
The family requests that memorials be made to Troy Methodist Church or Reelfoot Rural Ministries.
The Messenger