Mary Virginia (Cude) Gibson, 86, of Union City died January 11, 2015, at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Union City.

Services will be at 11:00 a.m. Thursday at Edmaiston-Mosley Funeral Home with the Revs. Russ Ragoven and Daniel Holloway officiating. Burial will follow at Pleasant Hill Cemetery near Rives.

Visitation will be held at Edmaiston Mosley Funeral Home from 10:00 a.m. until the hour of services Thursday.

Pallbearers will be Dave Stockton, James Cude, Russ Cude, Ben Ferguson, Chad Meadow and Steve Meadow.

Virginia was born August 8, 1928, in Troy, daughter of the late Maudie (Culberson) and James R. Cude. She married Robert H. (Bob) Gibson on August 6, 1950. They recently celebrated 64 years of marriage.

Virginia attended the former Rives school for twelve years and was valedictorian of her senior class. While in school, she played basketball and learned to drive a tractor and milk cows on the family farm. She attended UT Junior College in Martin and graduated from Iowa State University with a B.S. degree in Home Economics.

Virginia taught home economics for two years in Iowa before starting her family. She devoted herself to her husband and four children and was an accomplished homemaker, winning several national sewing contests. When her children were older, she went back to school and earned her M.A. and Ed.S. degrees from the University of North Alabama. Virginia taught remedial reading for 22 years in Florence, Alabama schools. During this time she was honored as Alabama's Reading Teacher of the Year. She was a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Alpha Delta Kappa, and the local, state and national education associations. More recently, she became a member of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution and was a member of the local Reelfoot DAR chapter.

Virginia was a member of the Disciples of Christ denomination for over 50 years. She attended Central Christian Church in Sheffield, Alabama; First Christian Church in Florence, Alabama; and most recently First Christian Church in Union City where she played the piano and organ for many years. She also played the piano for the Union City Kiwanis Club where she was a member for ten years. She loved music and reading and was a benefactor to the children's department of the Obion County Public Library and the music department at UT-Martin.

She is survived by her husband; daughter and son-in-law, Linda Gibson and Dave Stockton of Bartlett; two sons, Roger of Hartselle, Alabama and Tim of Union City; one granddaughter, Mairi Stockton of Bartlett; three sisters, Sue (Dick) Meadow and Betty Caldwell of Murfreesboro and Janice Galbraith of San Juan, Puerto Rico; and many nieces and nephews.

She was also preceded in death by her son, Alan and her brother, William (Billy) Cude.

The family suggests that memorials be made to First Christian Church in Union City or to the Obion County Public Library.