Bonnie Arlene “Sarge” Samford, age 88, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., passed away on Monday, Oct. 28, 2019. She was born in Paris, Illinois to the late Cloyd and Olive (Bouslog) Samford. In addition to her parents, she was also preceded in death by two brothers, Dale Samford and William Samford; two brother- in-laws, Max E. Pantle and Beuford Travis; and two sister-in-laws, Martha Samford and Juanita Samford.
Ms. Samford is survived by her sister, Norma (Harry) Shumate of Murfreesboro, Tenn.; brother, Archie (Lizz) Samford of Tullahoma, Tenn.; sister-in-law, Wanda Samford of Terre Haute, Ind.; as well as several nieces and nephews.
Graduating from the Paris, Illinois Hospital School of Nursing, she worked as an RN for over 45 years. She worked for eight years at the State School for Mentally Challenged at Lincoln, Illinois then went into Indian Health Service, working with the Indians in hospitals in Arizona, Alaska, South Dakota, Montana, New Mexico, and North Carolina. She worked with the Cherokee for 12 years before retiring in 1995 in North Carolina. Before and after retirement she enjoyed doing volunteer work in schools, churches and the community. She had many hobbies including finding 4-leaf clovers (found several thousand each year); collecting memorabilia concerning bees; stamp and coin collecting; and travelling. When her health started to fail, she moved to Murfreesboro, Tenn. to be near family about five years ago. She was honored by the Cherokee and Blackfoot Indians by being inducted into their Tribes. She loved baking cookies for the day cares and city departments and was active at Tsali Manor (the Cherokee Senior Center) when she wasn’t making her clothes. Her church and community were a very important part of her daily life.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to her church, the Cherokee Penecostal Holiness Church, P.O.Box 733, Cherokee, NC 28719.
Services celebrating her life will be conducted at 10 a.m. CDT Saturday, Nov. 2 at Templeton Funeral Home in Paris, with Pastor Troy Warner officiating. Burial will follow in Franklin Cemetery near Chrisman, Illinois. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. until service time Saturday at the funeral home.
A memorial service will be held in Cherokee to honor her on Nov. 10 at her church.
Additional Information and online condolences at www.TempletonFuneralHome.com