Robert Owen DePriest's Obituary
Robert Owen DePriest passed away in peace on June 23, 2023 at the age of 96 at Alive Hospice in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He is preceded in death by his wife of 75 years Mary Lillian DePriest, parents Willian Henry and Eunice DePriest, nephews Owen Lehning, Bill Jenkins, and Tommy Jenkins, nieces Jane Brissey and Carol Russell, and grandson Scott Greene.
Robert is survived by his son Robert Henry DePriest and daughter Connie and her husband Bill Ellzey, brother Frank DePriest, and sisters Vera Akin and Carolyn and her husband Buddy Lehning. Robert was proud of his grandchildren Wendy and her husband Terry Johnston, Dave and his wife Joy DePriest, Scott and his wife Jennifer Greene, Wesley and his wife Elizabeth Greene, and Shelly Greene. He loved his great grandchildren Heath and Heather Greene, Bailey and Alyssa Greene, Macy and Mandy Johnston, Brandon and Connor DePriest, Greyson Dobis, and Tensley and Addyson Thrower. He loved his 18 nieces and nephews.
Robert joined the US Navy in 1943. He was transferred to the US Marine Corps and served as a medical corpsman in the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima. Following the war, Robert returned to Nashville, Tennessee. He married Mary Lillian Stone in 1947.
Robert graduated from Middle Tennessee State University. He became a Federal investigator with the US Civil Service Commission in 1952 in Memphis, Tennessee. Robert retired as Chief of Investigations for the Southeast region of the United States based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Following retirement, Robert earned a Master’s Degree at Middle Tennessee State University. He was an archivist with the Tennessee State Library and Archives for 5 years. Robert and his wife Mary served one year with the Southern Baptist Home Mission Board in Hawaii. He was a member of Tulip Grove Baptist Church in Hermitage, Tennessee.
The family cordially invites relatives and guests for a time of visitation on Friday, July 7th, 2023, from four o'clock until seven o'clock in the evening, and on Saturday, July 8th, 2023, from eleven o'clock in the morning until twelve o'clock in the afternoon, with a chapel funeral ceremony at twelve o'clock in the afternoon, and burial to follow at one o'clock in the afternoon at Spring Hill Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5110 Gallatin Road, Nashville, TN 37216.
Arrangements are entrusted to Spring Hill Funeral Home and Cemetery, "Where Nashville Comes to Remember."
What’s your fondest memory of Robert?
What’s a lesson you learned from Robert?
Share a story where Robert's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Robert you’ll never forget.
How did Robert make you smile?