Jimmie Lee Carmichael Monday, March 03, 2008 MURRAY, Ky. - Jimmie Lee Carmichael passed away Saturday, March 1, 2008, at the age of 96. Born Jimmie Lee Hendley to James Clifton Hendley and Lila Hargrove Hendley, she graduated from Murray State Teachers College Training School. From Murray, Ky., she moved to Paris, Tenn., Detroit, Mich. and then to Miami, Fla., where she attended Miami Business College. While in Miami, she was secretary to a medical doctor, worked as a dental assistant, managed two apartment houses and was the top seller in Florida for the Jewell Tea Company.
After marrying Eddie Carmichael, who was in the Army at the time, they moved to Galveston, Texas, LeCompte, La. and then returned to Miami. After World War II, when Eddie left the Army to manage hotels, apartment complexes and business offices, they moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. and then to Savannah, Ga. In Savannah, Jimmie Lee retired after serving as Assistant Librarian and Study Hall Proctor at Savannah Country Day School. Even today many of her former students testify to the strong positive impact she had on their lives. Jimmie Lee was a Sunday School teacher at Bull Street Baptist Church in Savannah, Ga., and was honored for her work as President of the deMolay Mothers Club and as President of two PTA's.
Eddie and Jimmie Lee retired to Murray, Ky. in 1976 where they lived for 25 years in the home they built overlooking Kentucky Lake State Park. Both Eddie and Jimmie Lee were Sunday School teachers at Elm Grove Baptist Church before joining Christian Fellowship Church in Briensburg, Ky. where they were very active until health problems prohibited them from attending. In Murray she served as Secretary and Treasurer of the Home Department of the Murray Women's Club. In 2000 they moved into the Glendale Place Retirement Community where they made many friends.
Jimmie Lee is survived by a son, Michael Carmichael and his wife, Sherry of Reston, Va.; granddaughter, Rebekah Carmichael of New York, N.Y.; daughter, Linda Carmichael Howard and her husband, Tommy of Savannah, Ga.; grandson, Daniel Howard and his wife, Kelly of Savannah, Ga.; son-in-law, Raymond Rowe of Miami, Fla.; grandson, Douglas Mayo of Bunnell, Fla.; and granddaughter, Pam Mayo of California. She is also survived by two sisters in Murray, Imogene Palmer and her husband, Hugh and Betty Drinkard Coleman; and by sister, Estelle Lovett of Georgia. Additionally, she is survived by a brother, Paul Drinkard and his wife, Betsy of Jensen Beach, Fla. and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
She was predeceased by her husband, Eddie, by her daughter, Mary Jane Carmichael Rowe, by her grandson, Stephen Carmichael, and by several siblings.