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- Donna Netherland, 101, passed away peacefully at Johnson City Medical Center on Monday, February 20, 2006, after a short illness.
Mrs. Netherland, born January 31, 1905, was the daughter of the late Nat T. Perry Sr. and Mary Jackson Perry of Elizabethton. She was born in a home on Sunset Hill, the current location of First Baptist Church, and was a lifelong resident of Elizabethton.
Mrs. Netherland graduated from East Tennessee State Normal School (now East Tennessee State University) in 1923, receiving the Normal Certificate for teaching. In 1949 she earned a B.S. degree in English also at ETSU. She began her teaching career in Montezuma, N.C., in 1923 and later spent 46 joy-filled years teaching elementary classes in the Elizabethton School System, primarily at West Side Elementary School, where many generations of first-graders remember her with love and admiration.
Mrs. Netherland was recently honored for her service to West Side Elementary School with a celebration marking the 100th day of school for this year. She entertained the students with stories from her years of teaching and was surprised when Elizabethton's mayor proclaimed the day "Donna Netherland Day."
An enthusiastic supporter of the programs of her alma mater, ETSU, and dedicated to the concept of lifelong learning, Donna Netherland was a charter member of ETSU's Institute for Continued Learning, and was named Adult Learner of the Year in 1998. ETSU honored her twice by inviting her to be the keynote speaker at the fall commencement exercises, and awarded her the institution's first honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in December 2004.
Donna Netherland was a joyful, longtime member of First Presbyterian Church, Elizabethton, serving as an ordained elder, Sunday school teacher, and assisting in the music and library programs. She was a faithful member of the Elizabethton Book Club, Franklin Flower Club, Delta Kappa Gamma and the Carter County Retired Teachers Association. She loved music and attended concerts regularly, especially those of the Johnson City Symphony Orchestra. She was an accomplished pianist.
Donna Netherland was preceded in death by her husband, Houston Netherland; three sisters, Hazel Shepherd, Elizabeth Trollinger and Helen Earnest; two brothers, James J. Perry and Nat T. Perry Jr., and two nephews.
She is survived by nieces, Betty Briscoe, Rockville, Md., June Perry, Elizabethton, and Nancy Jane Earnest, of the home; and nephews, Bill Shepherd, Jackson Miss., Frank Shepherd, Elizabethton, James Trollinger, Falls Church, Va., and Ben Earnest, Lakeland, Fla. Several great, great-great and great-great-great-nephews and nieces as well as many dear friends mourn her passing and celebrate her joy-filled life.
A Celebration of Life service for Mrs. Netherland will be held at First Presbyterian Church, 119 W. F Street, Elizabethton, on Sunday, February 26, at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to the First Presbyterian Church Memorial Fund or to the American Heart Association. The Netherland family will receive friends at a reception following the Celebration of Life service in the John Martin Hall at First Presbyterian Church. Online condolences may be sent to the family through our Web site at www.hathawaypercy.com.
Arrangements for the Netherland family have been entrusted to Hathaway-Percy Funeral Home.
Donna P. Netherland - Elizabethton Star - (Mar/1/2006)
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Abt 1871 - 
