Fay Cowan Barnes

She was a graduate of Blanche High School in Taft, Tenn. And after marrying, she moved to Nashville where she enjoyed a longstanding career in procurement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In this role, she worked closely with veterinarian teams, helping support farmers and ensuring food safety. Her purposeful work sometimes took her to different parts of the country, such as Pennsylvania where she assisted with containing the 1983 Avian flu outbreak.

In her downtime, Fay loved to walk, work crossword puzzles, and read. She especially liked true crime novels and was definitely an OG murderino. After retiring, Fay devoted much of her time to volunteer work. She was a reading tutor at a local elementary school and frequently visited residents at a local nursing facility. She was also a long-time member of Tusculum Hills Baptist Church, which she supported in various ways, including using her excellent cooking skills to prepare church meals.

In addition to her parents, Fay is preceded in death by her husband Bobby Barnes; her brother Billy Cowan; her sister Dorothy Moore; her niece, Jeaniene Winkler Jones; and nephews Rickey, Mark, Brandon, and Joseph Moore. She is survived by three sisters: Ann Keller (Roy) of Fayetteville, Tenn.; Nancy Winkler (Foster) of Indian Land, SC.; and Pam Yuska of Columbus, OH. Fay is also survived by many adoring nieces and nephews and devoted friends, including Gary and Patty Martin of Nashville and Diane Ward of Smyrna, Tenn.

The family will honor her with a graveside service on Saturday, April 26, at 11:30 a.m. at Kirkland Cemetery in Taft, Tenn. A memorial service will also be held on Sunday, April 27, at Tusculum Hills Baptist Church in Nashville with visitation starting at 1:30 p.m. and the service at 2 p.m.