Florence Rebecca Tipton Schultz, 95, of Dyersburg, died Sunday, December 6, 2015 at The Highlands of Dyersburg. Born May 29, 1920 in Dyersburg,TN, she was the daughter of the late Joe P. and Florence O’Bryan Tipton. She was a fourth generation Dyer Countian, descended from the Light, Tipton, Thomas and O’Bryan families, all of which played prominent roles in the development of Dyersburg and Dyer County in the 19th century.
Florence was a 1938 graduate of Dyersburg High School, and a 1942 graduate of The University of Tennessee, where she served as president of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority. She received her post graduate degree in Library Science from George Peabody College in 1943, and later served as librarian at Dyersburg High School, and Central High School in Jackson, MS, where she met and married her husband, Marvin Bernard Schultz, Sr. on February 12, 1947. After marriage, she took a long sabbatical to assume her favorite vocation, being a dedicated mother rearing her seven children. She later served as librarian at Eliza Fox Elementary School in Vicksburg, MS, before returning home to Dyersburg in June 1969, where she served as the first head librarian at Dyersburg State Community College before retiring. Florence was a member of Holy Angels Catholic Church and a proud member of the Key Corner Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution as a direct descendant of Colonel John Tipton, who served in the Continental Army in Virginia, and was a signer of the State of Tennessee’s first constitution in 1796. She was a Century Farm owner, via the Light House Farm, which was acquired by her great grandfather, Joel A. Light, in 1852, and on which she resided from 1971 until her death. In 2014, Florence was named to the Dyersburg High School Hall of Honor.
Funeral services will be at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, December 15, 2015, at the Holy Angels Catholic Church conducted by Reverend Robert J. Stellini with interment to follow in Fairview Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be her 7 grandsons.
The family will receive friends Monday, December 14th from 4:00 – 6:00 pm at Curry Funeral Home.
She is survived by her 3 daughters, Beverly S. Tipton (Jack) of Caruthersville, MO, Rebecca S. Crockarell (Charlie) of Jackson, Molly S. Culbreath of Murfreesboro; 4 sons, Marvin Schultz, Jr. (Meredith) of Dyersburg, Joel Schultz of Hickory Flat, MS, Carl Schultz (Amy) of Dyersburg, and George Schultz (Anne) of Nashville; 13 grandchildren, Katie Tipton Patel, Sarah Tipton Dickey, Michael Tipton, Brian Crockarell, Beth Crockarell, Jeffrey Culbreath, Elizabeth Culbreath Smith, Mary Catherine Culbreath McCord, Joseph Schultz, William Schultz, John Schultz, Lee Schultz, and Suzanne Schultz; and 7 great-grandchildren.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband.
The family requests memorials be directed to McIver’s Grant Public Library, 410 West Court Street, Dyersburg, TN 38024 or to the charity of the donor’s choice.
Arrangements entrusted to Curry Funeral Home, 1984 St. John Avenue, Dyersburg, TN 38024.
Online condolences may be made to the family at www.curryfuneral.com.