Melba Abney

Melba (Pillow) Abney, 94, of Hendersonville, TN, died at home on Tuesday, January 24, 2023.  She was a lifelong member of the Church of Christ.  She was born October 20, 1928 in Paragould, Arkansas.

Melba graduated from Paragould High School and attended nursing school in Memphis, TN where she received her RN Diploma.  She also attended Harding University.  She was a nurse at Hawkins Hospital and then the plant nurse at Vickers (Eaton Corporation) in Searcy, until she retired and she and her husband moved to Sydney, Australia for mission work for several years.  She and Robert moved to Leesburg, GA and then to Hendersonville, TN in 2015.

She is preceded in death by her son , Keith Abney; her parents, Arthur and Ruth Pillow; a brother, Douglas Pillow; and two sister, Nina Martin and Gay Watson.  Survivors include her husband, Robert Abney to whom she was married for seventy years and a daughter, Norma Rogers, both of Hendersonville, TN.  She is also survived by daughter-in-law, Lesa Abney, three grandchildren, Kristin Lawrence (Adam) and Kevin Abney, all of Jefferson, GA; and Kris Abney (Susan) of Jamaica Plain, MA. She is survived by her sister Dora Hunter of Paragould, AR. She is survived by one great-grandchild, Hannah Lawrence of Jefferson, GA.

Visitation will be held on Friday, January 27, 2023, from 10am-1030am at the Hendersonville Church of Christ.  A Memorial service will begin at 10:30am.

In lieu of flowers, the family request donations be made to the following charities; Tennessee Prison Outreach Ministry  136 Rains Avenue  Nashville, TN  37203; The Christian Chronicle  P.O. Box 11000  Oklahoma City, OK 73136-9980; or to Healing Hands International  455 McNally Drive  Nashville, TN  37211-3311.