Mary Moore Earthman Weatherford, age 97, passed away peacefully in her home and went to be with her Lord and Savior on Monday, February 24, 2025.  She was welcomed into this world on January 17, 1928, being one of the first babies born in the then new Rutherford Hospital in Murfreesboro, TN. She was the second of four children born to Harold "Doc" H. Earthman, Sr., and Mary Moore Earthman. She grew up in a house built by her parents fondly known as "Countryside," which was on several acres bordering the Main Street entrance to Middle Tennessee State College (now M.T.S.U.). Their residence had one of the few, if not the only, swimming pools in Murfreesboro which attracted many childhood friends to Countryside. Mary lived in Murfreesboro virtually her entire life, with the brief exception of living in Washington D.C., and later living near U.T.'s campus with her husband, Jack Weatherford.

Mary's formal education began in Mrs. Becker's school located in this teacher's home in Murfreesboro. She then attended Campus School (a/k/a Training School) through the tenth grade and later transferred to Central High School for one year where she was a cheerleader. Soon thereafter, Mary's father became a U.S. Congressman thus moving the family to Washington D.C. There she entered her senior year of high school at the National Cathedral School from where she graduated in 1945. While at the National Cathedral School, she and her little sister, Virginia, missed their friends, as well as the happenings in Murfreesboro. To sooth their loneliness, sweet, perfect Mary Earthman, and her (a bit more mischievous) sister would sneak off campus to smoke cigarettes, though unsuccessful in being stealth when breaking the rules.

Mary furthered her education by entering M.T.S.C. where she attended for one year and met Jack Weatherford of Columbia, TN. Mary and Jack dated for eight months and then married on August 8, 1947. Doc Earthman frequently said that he intended for his daughter to leave MTSC with a B.S. degree but instead left with an MRS degree. The MRS degree must have worked because Mary and Jack have been married 77 years and had four children as products of this union. Mary and Jack's lives were an AMAZING love story from which their children greatly benefitted and profoundly learned life lessons.

Mary and Jack have been active members of New Heights Chapel (formerly College Heights Chapel) for 70 years, a church started by her father, her brother, Ben Earthman, and their close friend, Oscar Johns, in 1955.

Mary committed her life to Christ partially evidenced by serving people in every role she assumed whether it being as a mother, wife, aunt, grandmother, church member, leader of Christian service organizations, or Cub Scout Den Mother. Mary served as the first chairperson of the Christian Women's Club in Murfreesboro. She also served on the first board of directors of the Crisis Pregnancy Center (now Portico). For decades, she was extremely active in coordinating and teaching Vacation Bible School at College Heights Chapel. While her children were young, she organized and hosted local Child Evangelism Fellowship classes at their residence. Mary and Jack also shared their home with church families in transition, inviting them to live with their family for periods of time. Mary took to heart the message Jesus communicated when He washed His disciple's feet, because obviously all aspects of Mary's life were the epitome of servanthood.

Words cannot adequately express how kind, generous, gracious, and caring Mary was to anyone with whom she came into contact, particularly neighborhood kids. Mary had a standard weekly order of two large oval tins of Charles Chips delivered to her house knowing that her children could not consume all of them. Amazingly, the friends of her children made a mental note on their internal calendars the day of "Charlie Chips" deliveries, when these kids would magically show up to visit Virginia, Jack, Camden, and Ben. In her southern drawl, Mary was heard saying "Hi dawlin'!," or "Hello hunny!" Later in her circle of life, she served as "taxi" for grandchildren, loading them up in her Mercedes station wagon but always pausing in route to stop at a country store or fast-food joint for goodies prior to their final destination. What fond memories of Granmommie's genuine love for them.

Mary is survived by her husband of 77 years, Jack O. Weatherford, Sr. Also surviving Mary are her children Virginia Weatherford Perry (Charles), Camden Weatherford Dement (Andy), and J. Ben Weatherford (Margie), as well as her grandchildren, Sarah, Rachel, David, and John Perry, along with Will, Bart, and Jack Dement, and Ben and Mary Margaret Weatherford. She is also survived by her loving nieces and nephews, Mary, John, Rob, Alice (the Sanders) and Mark and Jim Poag. Mary was preceded in death by her son, Jack O. Weatherford, Jr.; parents, Harold and Mary Earthman; sister, Virginia Earthman Sanders; and brothers, Ben Earthman and Harold Henderson Earthman, Jr.

Visitation with the family will be Wednesday, March 5, 2025 from 10:00am until 12:00noon at Woodfin Memorial Chapel. Funeral services will immediately follow at noon at Woodfin Memorial Chapel. Burial will follow in the Evergreen Cemetery in Murfreesboro, TN.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to New Heights Chapel in Murfreesboro, TN or to Horton Haven Christian Camp in Chapel Hill, TN or to Portico in Murfreesboro, TN.