Marguerite Early Fish

Marguerite Early Fish passed away peacefully June 27, 2019.
She was born May 19,1922 in Louisville, KY and was raised in Williamsburg, KY.

She was preceded in death by her husband of more than 65 years Edward Arthur Fish; parents Walter Blaine and Marguerite Boswell Early; brothers, Charles Hugh Maguire and Walter Blaine Early Jr.; brothers- and sisters-in-law, Frank Atkins, Howard and Tallu Scott, Joe Smith and Virginia Early; grandson Lewis Rockwell Fish and his mother Catherine Foote Fish.

She is survived by her children, Margie Fish Martin and her husband Kirke, Edward Arthur Fish lll and his wife Toni, John Bailey Fish and his wife Denice, and Walter Lewis Fish. She is also survived by nine grandchildren, Kirke Martin, Edward Martin (Rachel), Margo Cloniger (David), Lillie Fish (Daniel), Helen Nonn (Kris), Bailey Fish, Tyler Fish, Beau Fish, Wilson Fish; 14 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews all of whom she loved deeply. She is also survived by her sister, Clara Early Atkins and sister-in-law, Betty Fish Smith.

Marguerite was a graduate of Williamsburg High School and the University of Louisville where she was a member of Sigma Kappa. After college and during World War ll she joined the Navy and served as a Lieutenant JG in Washington State for the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service Program) for the duration of the war.

She married her high school sweetheart after the war and began her family. Marguerite also began her avocation as a patron of and tireless volunteer for the arts. She was a docent at the National Gallery in Washington, the High Museum in Atlanta, and her greatest love Cheekwood Botanical Gardens in Nashville. She made perhaps her greatest contribution working on Cheekwood’s Trees of Christmas.

She was a founding member of the Nashville Opera Guild and in 2008 received the Francis Robinson Award given to individuals who have made a significant contribution to the Opera. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Centennial Club, Horticultural Society and Immanuel Baptist Church. She served on the board of the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly. She loved singing for the Nashville Symphony Chorus in their performances of the Messiah during the Christmas season, and playing the bells at Westminster Presbyterian Church. She played tennis well into her 80’s.

Her greatest joy was the summers she and Ed spent with a cottage full of family and friends during the Season at Monteagle Sunday School Assembly. She will be remembered fondly for her ability to make everyone feel important and welcomed in her home. She wanted a house that was filled with love and laughter. Her legacy passes this giving spirit on to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

She was greatly loved and will be dearly missed.

Services were held in her cherished summer retreat Monteagle Sunday School Assembly in Warren Chapel on July 6, at 1 p.m. followed by a burial in the Monteagle Assembly Cemetery and a reception at Harton Hall.

Memorials may be made to: Monteagle Sunday School Assembly, P.O. Box 307, Monteagle, TN 37356; Alive Hospice,1718 Patterson Street, Nashville,TN 37203; Immanuel Baptist Church, 222 Belle Meade Boulevard, Nashville,TN 37205.