Mrs. Judy Brown Melson Zimmerman

July 24, 1931 - August 21, 2020

JUDITH ANN BROWN MELSON ZIMMERMAN SHELBYVILLE – Judith (“Judy”) Ann Brown Melson Zimmerman entered into peaceful rest on Friday, August 21, 2020, at St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, after an extended illness, resulting in respiratory failure. She was 89. Judy was born on July 24, 1931 in Petersburg, Tennessee to James Monroe Brown and Mary Logan Brown. She is preceded in death by her parents, and her sisters, Patsy Brown Whiteside, and Sherrie Brown Comes. She is survived by her sister, Rowena Brown Peacock (Dennis) of Hilton Head, SC, her daughters, Melissa Melson Simmons (Jimmy) of Shelbyville, TN, Dana Melson Giles Smith of Brentwood, TN, Cynthia Melson Rothschild Guglielmi (Carlo) of Nashville, TN, and Miche Melson Harrington Ortega (George) of Smyrna, TN; grandchildren, Angela Simmons Huffman, Joey Simmons (Amanda), Josh Simmons (Carrie Brooke), all of Shelbyville, TN, Steffie Giles Sloan, Tullahoma, TN, Ashlee Smith Lecorps (Jacques), Nashville, TN, Linzey Smith, Nashville, TN, Taylor Smith, Franklin, TN, Logan Rothschild, Nashville, TN, Giuliana Guglielmi Oaks (Avery), Nashville, TN, Nicoletta Guglielmi, Knoxville, TN, and Reid Harrington (Robin), Soddy Daisy, TN; great grandchildren, Ethan Sloan, Chattanooga, TN, Max Sloan, Franklin, TN, Maggie Sloan, Franklin, TN, Gage Huffman, Zoe Huffman, Jada Simmons, Avery Simmons, and Nate Simmons, all of Shelbyville, TN, and numerous beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins. Judy was most happy at her home on Skyview Terrace, where she loved to decorate with many beautiful things she collected over the years, prepare delicious meals for her family, friends, and loved ones, and to read, before losing most of her eyesight to macular degeneration. She loved music, and had a beautiful voice. She sang in a high school trio with Doris and Iris Bomar, performed leading parts in high-school plays, was a member of the high school Glee Club, won a console radio in a weekly solo RCA singing contest she entered, and sang many solos while attending Whiteside Methodist Church, in her youth. Judy was colorful, and she loved clothes and jewelry and she had MANY. She loved the theater. She enjoyed Broadway plays in New York, and was a yearly member of the Barn Dinner Theater in Nashville. Judy graduated from Shelbyville Central High School in the Class of 1949. She was a long-time member of The First Presbyterian Church, a Girl Scout leader, a former member of the Shelbyville Women’s Club, and the Epsilon Sigma Alpha Sorority, Beta Iota Chapter, and a 19 year retiree from K-Mart. Lastly, Judy was kind, and she instilled that in her four daughters. She was a friend to many, and she will be missed by many. The family would like to thank the kind doctors, nurses, chaplains and staff at St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital for their outstanding care of her, and accommodation of the family, during her two-day stay there, especially in consideration of the challenge of COVID-19. We would also like to thank AHC Northside of Murfreesboro, TN for the wonderful care they provided to our Mother during her extended illness, and to Carriage House Inn and The Heart Remembers, Shelbyville, TN, for their wonderful care during her residence there, as well. You are all truly heroes. Visitation will be held Thursday, August 27, 2020, 2:00–4:00 pm, service at 4:00 pm, at Feldhaus Memorial Chapel, with burial to follow in Talley Cemetery in Petersburg, TN. Pastor Eddie Watson will officiate. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, or to the charity of your choice. Feldhaus Memorial Chapel is assisting the family with the arrangements.