Joy Brown

Funeral services for Mrs. Joy Brown, 100, of Gainesboro, TN, will be held at 11 A.M. on Saturday, August 15, 2015, at the Gainesboro Church of Christ in Gainesboro, TN. Burial will follow in the Rob Draper Memorial Cemetery in the Stone community of Jackson County, TN. The family will receive friends on Friday from 5 to 9 P.M. at Anderson-Upper Cumberland Funeral Home and on Saturday from 10 A. M. until the time of services at the Gainesboro Church of Christ. She passed away on Saturday, August 8, 2015, at her residence in Gainesboro, TN. Born Elizabeth Joy Gailbreath, in Gainesboro, on December 4, 1914, she was the second of four children of George Bain Gailbreath and Dixie Hampton Gailbreath. For most of her 100 years she resided in the same house in Gainesboro. She was a lifelong member of the Gainesboro Church of Christ. After graduation from high school in 1932, she completed a beauty course in Memphis. Returning to Gainesboro, she opened Joy's Beauty Shop which she ran for many years. In 1941, she married Roy Alan Brown, of Fayetteville, TN. After his death in 1951, she worked as a beautician, a clerk in the school administration office and was a receptionist and bookkeeper for Dr. Jack Johnson until his retirement. Later in life, she was known for her portrayal of Aunt Polly Williams (her great-grandmother) at the Gainesboro Ghost Walk, and, dressed as Uncle Sam, for recitations of Johnny Cash's "Ragged Old Flag" at Veterans' and Memorial Day celebrations. Her birthday parties became a community event at which she entertained her guests with singing, tap dancing, stories and poems. Though in ill health, she celebrated her 100th birthday party last December with the help of Jamie Daily and Darren Vincent who sang a song written for the occasion. She was preceded in death by her husband Roy, parents Bain and Dixie Gailbreath, brother Edward 'Bub' Gailbreath, sisters Hampton Mabry and Katherine Anderson. She is survived by her two sons, Mike (Shelley) Brown of Fort Worth, TX and Tom (Pamela) Brown of Thousand Oaks, CA, four grandchildren, Merritt Brown Seely, Lowell Brown, Scott Brown and Kevin Brown, six great grandchildren, several nieces and nephews, and her first cousin, Glenn Ragland of Memphis. Pallbearers are Ken Mabry, Neil Ranft, Terry Sissom, Don Foy, Mark Tardy and Tony Sircy. Honorary pallbearers are John Fox and Gary Gill, Elders at the Gainesboro Church of Christ. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Gainesboro Church of Christ, audio/video department which allows the homebound to watch the services. Bro. Wayne Wells will officiate at the services. Funeral Home Anderson Upper Cumberland Funeral Home, Inc. 2131 S. Grundy Quarles Hwy. P.O. Box 398 Gainesboro TN - 38562 US 931-268-1550 931-268-1552