Beatrice Montgomery

MONTGOMERY, BEATRICE - age 88 of Knoxville, daughter of the late Frank and Ada Donaldson Montgomery and the younger sister of Mary Jean and George Donaldson Montgomery, passed away Tuesday, May 15, 2007 after a short illness at Ft. Sanders Medical Center. She was a member of St. John's Cathedral. Bea attended Thackston School and graduated from Old Knoxville High. She went on to the University of Tennessee, where she was inspired by a much-admired professor to a love of literature and books, and then transferred to Randolph-Macon Woman's College where she earned a bachelors degree in English. She later received a bachelors degree in Library Science from Emory University and a masters degree in that subject from the University of North Carolina. During World War II, she worked in the National City Bank of New York and for a short time taught school in Knoxville. After receiving her degree from Emory, she began a career as a librarian, earning her masters while working at North Carolina. By the end of her career, she had worked at a number of universities across the country. She retired to Knoxville about 20 years ago. In addition to books and family, Bea's other love was music. She was an accomplished pianist with, as she liked to say, perfect pitch. From the age of five she was never without a piano and she played music and talked books until a few days before her death. Bea is survived by sister-in-law Mary Beth Montgomery; nephew George Cranwell Montgomery; grand niece Erynn Montgomery Scollard, and numerous cousins, including Lucy Kennerly Gump, Mary Kennerly Meyers, Craig Travis Kennerly and Ann Painter Riley. She would also want mentioned her adoptive nieces Helen Elizabeth Cranwell and Rebecca Ann Cranwell. Bea was a loving daughter, sister and aunt with a quick wit and a fierce determination that the younger generations in her family share her love for learning and literature. Memorial service will be 11:00 A.M. Saturday at St. John's Cathedral Chapel with The Rev. Cannon Thomas J. Rasnick officiating following a private interment service. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. John's Cathedral. P.O. Box 153, Knoxville, TN 37901 or the charity of your choice. The family will receive friends in the Great Hall following the memorial service. A complete obituary will be announced by Rose Mortuary Mann Heritage Chapel. www.rosemortuary.com