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From the time she was a little girl until she died, Peggy Morris Grindstaff wore a smile. She smiled when her heart was broken, on days when she didn’t feel good and through pain, as well as those days when she was happy. She was never fully dressed without a smile, and her smile became a part of her daily attire.

Peggy Morris Grindstaff died May 4 at the age of 73. Peggy was preceded in death by her parents, Brady H. and Erma Morris, and her husband, Terry Grindstaff, who died in 1996. She grew up in the Beck Mountain community just a couple or three houses down from where I lived and grew up, so I had known Peggy all her life. She grew up surrounded by aunts and uncles and cousins, making theirs a close-knit family.

She was an only child; thus, her cousins who lived close by were more like brothers and sisters to her.

A cousin, Penny Carrico, who lived down the hill from her, noted that Peggy had a devout faith. “She believed in God and tried to live her faith. She was a longtime member of Siam Baptist Church and worked with the GAs for several years at the church. She enjoyed working with the children and on holidays did crafts with the preschoolers. She was an asset to the church,” said Penny.

Peggy was a graduate of Elizabethton High School and the Tennessee Center for Applied Technology LPN program. She retired from ETSU Pediatrics. “She was an excellent nurse, very caring, and pediatrics suited her as she loved children,” shared Penny.

However, nursing was Peggy’s second career, as for several years before working as a nurse she was a hairdresser. It was only after her husband died that she attended nursing school in order to increase her earnings, as she had two boys, Kevin and Kelly, still at home.

In addition to her two sons, Peggy had six grandchildren.

For a time, Peggy and Terry and their boys lived on Bluefield Avenue. She continued to live there for a time until her boys were grown. After her mother’s death, she moved back to her childhood home at Beck Mountain.

Penny described Peggy as “loving, full of laughter, always upbeat, and full of joy. Even when she was fighting cancer and near the end of her life, Peggy was upbeat and encouraging.”

Peggy was a very talented person. “She especially enjoyed doing drawings and crafts, and the crafts part carried over into her work with the GAs at church. Peggy was a very talented and sharing person,” said Penny.

Growing up, I also remember Peggy as a very bubbly person who wore curls a lot and had rosy cheeks. She endeared herself to others.

Peggy was laid to rest Thursday in the Cleve Hardin Cemetery, located at the back of her home.

Perhaps a friend summed Peggy’s life best on the funeral home tribute page when she wrote, “Such a beautiful soul and angel,” and that she was.

Another wrote, “Peggy was a wonderful friend, just like family. I will miss her at church … and talking to her on the phone.”

Because of Peggy’s smile and joy, she made life more beautiful, and now that she is with the Savior, can you not imagine how big her smile is now?