Myrma J. Pridgen of Goodlettsville, Tennessee passed away on October 31, 2026, at Skyline Hospital in Nashville. She was born on April 3, 1937, in Wilmington, North Carolina to Alton W. Ketchum and Mattie Ketchum. She was baptized at Sunset Park Baptist Church as a young person in Wilmington and actively lived her faith through her love and compassion for her family, friends, and business associates. She cared deeply and gave greatly in countless ways to so many throughout her life.

By any measure, she had a long and full life filled with boundless joy, happiness, and a few challenges along the way like most people who are blessed to live on this earth for eighty-nine years. Having been born just before the start of World War II, she often recalled life in Wilmington as a young child where she stood by the road waving to American troops as they were taken to the beach to disembark on ships to fight in Europe. She was also a child of the 1950’s and the happier days following World War II. As a teenager she enjoyed trips to Wrightsville Beach, drive-ins, oyster roasts, and of course the unforgettable music of that time. Think Elvis, The Everly Brothers, The Coasters, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard. She graduated from New Hanover High School and went on to attend Wilmington College for two years. She then went to work for the United Way in downtown Wilmington as the Executive Assistant to the Director of the organization. She married Guy W. Pridgen, Sr of Kelly, N.C. and in time brought sons Guy, Jr. and Woodrow (Woody) into the world.

After a couple of company transfers from Wilmington, N.C. to Kingsport, Tennessee and then to Nashville, the family made their home in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Myrma raised the boys through the high school years and then went back to work at the Grand Ole Opry Tours affiliated with Opryland, USA.

She greatly enjoyed working in tourism and loved showing and sharing Opryland U.S.A., the Opry House, the Ryman Auditorium, and the country music world with visitors to Nashville. She was quickly recognized by in-bound tour operators for her talent in tourism and was offered positions with those companies. She eventually accepted a position with Rohrbaugh Tours out of Maryland and moved to Westminster. While there she had the opportunity to design, organize, and lead tours along the East Coast, across America and into Canada. She eventually continued her tourism career at a couple of other locations before retiring.

At the center of her world was her family always putting them first, always caring, and showing her love for them in ways great and small every day. She also cherished the relationships she had with friends and business colleagues through the years.

When son Woody and daughter-in-law Kim had their daughter Lindsey and son Luke, she was overjoyed to become a grandmother and fully embraced the role. There was never a day when she was not thinking about the kids and enjoyed watching them grow into exceptional young people and start their own families. She was thrilled when Lindsey and her husband Richard had their sons Row and Field making her a great grandmother. She was looking forward to watching grandson Luke and daughter-in-law Savannah grow into a family as well in the future.

She had a special and close relationship with her cousins Roy Hawkins and his wife Christie where they kept a lifelong relationship going, enjoying time spent together in Wilmington, here in Tennessee when they visited, and over the phone through the years.

For the last several years of her life Myrma lived with her son Guy and daughter-in-law Joanne where they had the opportunity to enjoy life together taking trips, watching college football, gardening, learning, discussing the latest events of the day, sharing meals together and building the special ties of a multigenerational household. She was an ever-present part of their lives and is going to be deeply missed.

Myrma is survived by son Guy W. Pridgen Jr (Joanne), daughter-in-law Kim Scholl Pridgen, granddaughter Lindsey Watson (Richard), great grandsons Row and Field Watson, grandson Luke Pridgen (Savannah). She is preceded in death by parents Alton and Mattie Mae Ketchum and her son Woodrow W. Pridgen.