Grace Ann (Green) Fugate

Grace Ann (Green) Fugate passed away on March 31, 2025.  The oldest of three girls, Grace was born on July 15, 1939, to Cleo Gladys (Jones) and Tommie Taylor Green, who preceded her in death. She was also preceded in death by three sons, Terry Eugene, Tommy Ray, and Steven Eugene Fugate, her grandson Tommy David Fugate, and her husband, Erby Eugene “Gene” Fugate. 

First born girls are the backbone of a family.  They are the keepers of the history and tradition, the life force of their clan, the tenders and caregivers of their flock.  Grace was the guardian of our past and the protector of our future, a guiding light.  She possessed the knowledge, love, strength, sorrow, pride, and pain of her generation and those before her.  She was the last of the sisters, a strong and sometimes stubborn reminder of who we are as a family and who we might be as people.  Grace’s passing leaves a void, but we use her life as an example of how to be better humans.  By doing so we honor her and keep her goodness alive. 

Grace’s superpower was quiet and humble service to her family and devotion to God.  Neither flamboyant nor loud, her life was a quiet and constant reminder of the power of love, a testament to and a reflection of her faith.  She did not seek out praise or reward.  Grace simply tried to do right by everyone.

Through her daily life, Grace nurtured her family and showed us the beauty of the world.  We remember Grace when we tend a garden of vegetables or flowers.  She fed generations with her vegetables and shared with us a love of things in bloom.  Dogwoods, purple irises, and white climbing roses will always recall her memory.  Through our gardens we will honor her love.

Grace is a part of us when we recognize the value of our work.  She spent well over 20 years as manager at the Cleveland, Tennessee Dollar General Store.  Grace had high expectations of those who worked for her, the same as she had for herself.  We learned that a job need not be high paying or high profile to be important; Grace knew her customers relied on her and she worked hard not to let them down.  She brought the same high standards to her life outside of the workday, from sewing dresses to preserving food.  Grace was not prideful, but she took great pride in a job well done.

Preparing a meal for others was her love language.  Grace prepared breakfast and dinner for her family every day.  Every single day.  Without demand and most often without thanks, Grace made meals for the comfort and nourishment of others.  She shared her talent by teaching us and passed on her love and gift for cooking with Taylor.  We respect her life and her effort when we feed others.

Grace was always, always a caregiver – to family and to strangers.  The final years of her parents’, sons’, and husband’s lives were spent in Grace’s selfless, loving care.  Caregiving was what Grace did without expectation or thought, it was simply a part of her, who she was.  Though she outlived many for whom she cared and experienced the pain and sorrow of outliving her younger sisters and all of her sons, Grace’s strength and faith never wavered.  Our lives will reflect her decency and kindness when we serve and care for others.

Grace was of the Christian faith, a Baptist.  But she did not simply talk about her faith, she lived it every day.  Grace was Christ like.  We are all different in our beliefs, but Grace is a part of each of us when we love each other, when we cherish our family and friends, and when we give and receive grace. 

In remembering her life and keeping her virtues Grace will always live among us.  And death shall have no dominion.

Grace is survived by her grandchildren Taylor Fugate and his wife Rebecca, Rhonda Pilkey, and Amanda Hooper; great grandchildren James and Charles, Lacy, Jalen, and Chancen, and Skylar Crutchfield and Austin Guffey; and by many nieces and nephews.  In addition to her parents, husband, sons, and grandson, Grace was preceded in death by her sisters, Lora Mae Lunsford and Mildred Ellen Hammonds and by her nephews, Ronnie LaBron and Johnny Franklin McKee.

Funeral services will be at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 4, 2025 at Ziegler Funeral Home.  Burial will follow at Sunset Memorial Gardens. 

Serving as pallbearers will be Mike Lunsford, Eddie Kesley, Miguel Barrionuevo, Shane Higdon, Samuel Burger, and Bud “Mac” Jones.

The family will receive friends from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 3, 2025 at Ziegler Funeral Home.