Grace Meredith Moorhead

GRACE MEREDITH MOORHEAD, of Little Rock and Memphis, Tenn., died peacefully in Little Rock on Thursday, Oct. 20, just days after celebrating her 91st birthday. Meredith was delivered into this world by her grandfather, Dr. W. H. Moorhead in Stuttgart, Ark., on Oct. 13, 1920, the second of five children that would be born to Earle W. and Ethel Martin Moorhead. For many years, the family lived in Little Rock where Meredith graduated from Little Rock High School in 1937. Entering Southwestern at Memphis in 1937, Meredith was honored by election to the Torch Society, formed to recognize women students exhibiting a high level of leadership and scholarship. Graduating in 1942, Meredith retained a love of literature and reading her entire life. After graduation, Meredith joined the Esso Corporation in Little Rock, Ark., in the personnel department. When the company moved their regional offices to Memphis, she moved with them, renewing her friendships with many of her Southwestern classmates. Meredith was a long-time communicant of St. John's Episcopal Church in Memphis, where she lived for over six decades. She was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers, William Martin Moorhead and James Earle Moorhead. Meredith is survived by a sister, Marjorie R. Berman, of Tucson, Ariz., and a brother, Paul S. Moorhead, of Claiborne, Md. Also preceding Meredith in death were her nephew, Charles Martin Moorhead, and a niece, Jane Meredith Moorhead Larson. Her legacy of warmth, caring, and generosity is celebrated by her surviving nieces: Ellen Moorhead Fennell, of Little Rock; Ann Belk Moorhead, of Oakland, Calif.; Emily Moorhead Watts, of Upper Darby, Pa.; Mary Knox Moorhead, of Philadelphia, Pa.; Sally Berman Hernandez, of Napa, Calif.; Laura Moorhead Layton, of Liverpool, N.Y.; and Sarah Moorhead, of Savannah, Ga. Of the "next generation" of nieces and nephews, she was especially close to Sara Beth Larson, of Memphis, who often assisted Meredith in later years as her health failed. Her grandmother once said of her, "Meredith sees what needs to be done and she does it." Never shirking her duty, Meredith was generous and kind to all who needed her aid, support, and friendship. She was particularly interested in the lives of her nieces, nephew, and the lives of their children, many of whom knew and loved their great, great aunt. The family requests memorials in lieu of flowers and that gifts may be made to Audubon Arkansas, 4500 Springer Blvd., Little Rock, Ark., 72206, or to a charity of the donor's choosing. Meredith will be buried next to her mother and father in Roselawn Memorial Park, where a graveside service will be held on Friday, Oct. 28, at 11 a.m. Arrangements by Ruebel Funeral Home, www.ruebelfuneralhome.com.