www.tennessean.com THE TENNESSEAN Sunday, February 23, 2003 7B DEATH NOTICES ------------------- MIDSTATE & DAVIDSON ------------------- WARREN Myra Elizabeth Chastain, 83, dies McMINNVILLE, Tenn. Myra Elizabeth (Lib) Chastain, 83, a former Warren County Commission member and advocate of improved mental-health care, died Thursday in the Alvin C. York Veterans Administration Medical Center in Murfreesboro after a three-month illness. Ms. Chastain, a Warren County native and farmer in the Shellsford community, was an outspoken champion of environmental protection. She led a political battle in the County Commission to establish a system of rural solid-waste collection and disposal. "Lib had the interests and needs of the entire county at heart," said retired county executive Harry Dunn, who served with her for 16 years. "Every vote she cast on the floor of the commission was one for every citizen of Warren County." Ms. Chastain was first elected commissioner in 1966 and retired in 1990. A longtime director of the board of the Warren County Agricultural and Livestock Fair, she organized annual exhibits of commercial and exotic poultry and prize-winning rabbits. She also spearheaded programs for youth education in agriculture and community service. Enlisting in the U.S. Army as America entered World War II, she rose to the rank of a WAC major before retiring in 1963, holding one of the highest ranks of any woman born in Warren County. A member of the Baptist Church, she had been honored as Woman of the Year by the local unit of the Business and Professional Women. She had remained active as a director of the Warren County Meals on Wheels program until declining health forced her retirement. Memorial services will be at 4 p.m. today at High Funeral Home here, with private burial in the Chastain Family Cemetery. Visitation at the funeral home will be 1-4 p.m. today. Survivors include a brother, Edwin Chastain, McMinnville; and a sister, Billie Vivian Jones, Trezevant, Tenn. BILL ZECHMAN FOR THE TENNESSEAN

Fred, Thank you so much for posting Lib's obituary. I'm so sorry to learn of her death. Last May she was such a gracious host and guide to me. She took me to all the old Anderson and Smoot sites in Warren County and helped me find Joseph Melton's grave. She gave so much to family history. She was a wonderful cousin. Ann Melugin Williams -----Original Message----- From: Fred Smoot [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 1:37 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [TNWARREN] Obituary: Myra Elizabeth (Lib) Chastain www.tennessean.com THE TENNESSEAN Sunday, February 23, 2003 7B DEATH NOTICES ------------------- MIDSTATE & DAVIDSON ------------------- WARREN Myra Elizabeth Chastain, 83, dies McMINNVILLE, Tenn. Myra Elizabeth (Lib) Chastain, 83, a former Warren County Commission member and advocate of improved mental-health care, died Thursday in the Alvin C. York Veterans Administration Medical Center in Murfreesboro after a three-month illness. Ms. Chastain, a Warren County native and farmer in the Shellsford community, was an outspoken champion of environmental protection. She led a political battle in the County Commission to establish a system of rural solid-waste collection and disposal. "Lib had the interests and needs of the entire county at heart," said retired county executive Harry Dunn, who served with her for 16 years. "Every vote she cast on the floor of the commission was one for every citizen of Warren County." Ms. Chastain was first elected commissioner in 1966 and retired in 1990. A longtime director of the board of the Warren County Agricultural and Livestock Fair, she organized annual exhibits of commercial and exotic poultry and prize-winning rabbits. She also spearheaded programs for youth education in agriculture and community service. Enlisting in the U.S. Army as America entered World War II, she rose to the rank of a WAC major before retiring in 1963, holding one of the highest ranks of any woman born in Warren County. A member of the Baptist Church, she had been honored as Woman of the Year by the local unit of the Business and Professional Women. She had remained active as a director of the Warren County Meals on Wheels program until declining health forced her retirement. Memorial services will be at 4 p.m. today at High Funeral Home here, with private burial in the Chastain Family Cemetery. Visitation at the funeral home will be 1-4 p.m. today. Survivors include a brother, Edwin Chastain, McMinnville; and a sister, Billie Vivian Jones, Trezevant, Tenn. BILL ZECHMAN FOR THE TENNESSEAN ==== TNWARREN Mailing List ==== This TNWARREN mailing list is provided by RootsWeb. It is the joint mailing list of the Warren County Genealogical Association and Warren County TNGenWeb Project. No commercial activities are allowed on this list. Please see full list rules here: http://www.tngenweb.org/warren/tnwarren.htm ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237