Mrs. Josephine Spiller Sheffey Hornsby, of Signal Mountain, died on Wednesday, March 14, 2007 in Murfreesboro, Tn.
She was born July 6, 1911 the fourth of eight children of Mr. and Mrs. James White Sheffey of Marion, Va. Jo was valedictorian of her Marion High School class and graduated second in her class at Marion College. She then taught school for two and a half years in Jewell Ridge, Va.
She married Robert Carlock Hornsby December 27, 1933, a postal inspector and native of Athens, Tn. They began married life in Hastings, Ne., moving with postal reassignments to Decatur, Al., and to Knoxville, Tn., where they lived from 1937 to 1958 before moving to Signal Mountain, Tn. During WWII, her spouse was called to active duty, United States Army and they moved to Miami, Fl., to work in Postal Censorship and Military Intelligence. They returned to the Knoxville home in 1946, where they continued to be active in First Presbyterian Church, in Scouting activities with their sons, in civic work and in contract bridge club activities.
Jo’s hobbies included reading, needlework, dressmaking and gardening. Her first love was her Lord and his church. On Signal Mountain she continued actively teaching Sunday School in the Youth Department, ending her active church career by volunteering in the nursery in the late 1980’s and in the Women of the Church where she was President and Life Member.
She held office in the Literature Department of the Signal Mountain Guild and in the Garden Study Club. She was an Erlanger Hospital volunteer "Pink Lady" "and was active in the Kiwanis and Postal Inspector auxiliaries. She and her spouse actively supported the Audubon Club, the Chattanooga Symphony and civic opera. Her sons knew her as a devoted mother and persistent role model.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert Carlock Hornsby and a son, Robert Preston Hornsby, M.D.
She is survived by her sons, Rev. James Sheffey Hornsby of Matagalpa, Nicaragua (a Presbyterian minister), and Jack Carlock Hornsby of Cashiers, N.C.; ten grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; sister, Eleanor Fairman Hutton of Abingdon, Va.; two nephews, Tom Hutton and Jim Hutton and a niece, Mary Preston Hutton Stanley of Abingdon and Glade Spring, Va.
Funeral services will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday at Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church with Dr. William Dudley officiating. Burial will be in Chattanooga National Cemetery on Monday.
The family will receive friends following the service at Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church.
Arrangements are by the East Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory and Florist, 404 South Moore Road.
Memorial contributions may be made to Young Life International P.O. Box 520 Colorado Springs, CO 80901-0520
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