Annie Lee McElroy Bragg

Annie Lee McElroy Bragg passed away on Sunday, July 22, 2012, at AdamsPlace, surrounded by her family.

She was born August 4, 1921, in Nora, Dickenson County, Virginia to Robert Lee and Eliza Grizzel McElroy.  She had one brother, James B. McElroy, who predeceased her. She moved west across the continent with her family three times while growing up and attended schools in Virginia, Tennessee and Wallowa County in Oregon. She graduated from Wallowa High School, where she was class valedictorian, on May 16, 1940.

She accepted a position as a file clerk with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington, D.C. She was working at the Bureau when Pearl Harbor was bombed in December 1941. She returned to Seattle to be closer to her parents during the war and took a job as a secretary at Boeing Field in Seattle where she met her future husband, from Murfreesboro, John Bragg.

They were married in Seattle in June of 1945. She returned to Murfreesboro after the war with her husband. She worked at the family owned Rutherford Courier and Courier Printing and Office Supply and the Red Cross. She devoted her life to her family, raising two sons and helping to raise five grandchildren.

She was a member of First Baptist Church, where she was a member of the WMU, teaching the Girls Auxiliary for many years. She was a member of the Women’s Club and the Flower Growers Garden Club. She enjoyed reading and raising vegetables.

She is survived by sister-in-law, Wordna Bragg Black, two sons; John T. Bragg, Jr., and wife, Jeanne; David M. Bragg, and wife, Nancy, all of Murfreesboro. Five grandchildren, Beth Jennings (Alex) of Murfreesboro; Anne Warren (Chris) of New York; John T. Bragg III, of Murfreesboro; Jason Bragg (Mary Thoresdale) of Chicago; Kevin Bragg (Rachel) of Murfreesboro; two great grandchildren, Elizabeth Jeanne and Mary Malcolm Warren of New York; nieces Patty League (Ron) and Mary Lovelace (Fred), nephews Jesse McElroy and Duane McElroy, Milton-Freewater, OR and many AdamsPlace friends and caring staff.

Graveside services and interment at Riverside Cemetery, Woodbury, Tennessee on Thursday morning at 11:00 a.m. Dr. Eugene Cotey and Pam Pilote will officiate.

The family would like to express their gratitude to the staff of AdamsPlace for their tender care during her stay there. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to First Baptist Church or the charity of your choice.

Pallbearers include John Bragg, III, Chris Warren, Alex Jennings, Jason Bragg, Kevin Bragg, Dr. Fred Lovelace, Ron League, Jesse McElroy, Duane McElroy.

Woodfin Memorial Chapel is in charge of the arrangements. 893-5151 Online condolences may be made at www.woodfinchapel.com