SIDNEY JEANETTE WILEY McMASTER
Sidney Jeanette Wiley McMaster, aka GG, or Jeanette, was born Friday, Jan. 22, 1932, in Tupelo, Miss., the eldest child of Eugene “Gene” Fulton and Mildred “Mid” Newell Wiley.
She died Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, in Oak Ridge.
Predeceasing her were her mother and father; brother, David Lee Wiley; and husband, William Murray McMaster.
Left to remember her are: Sisters, Ann Can Hassel of Heiskell, and Mary (Bill) McWhorter of Oak Ridge; children, Bruce (Karla) McMaster of Oak Ridge, Jane McMaster (Dan Clemons) of Petaluma, Calif., and Catherine (Paul) Pietrow of Rhineback, N.Y.; grandchildren, Lindsay (Corwin Walls) and Kasey (Ren Li) McMaster, Anne and Rachel Pietrow, and Ben Clemens.
GG was beautiful and carried herself with class (was it just a coincidence she and Queen Elizabeth II passed away the same day?). She graduated from Maryville College and attained her master’s in library science from Florida State University. An avid reader and lover of books, she spent her career as a librarian. She leaves behind many memories; both those she recounted and those she made with her family. There were the regular visits to Pontotoc, Miss., to visit her grandparents when she was a young girl. There was the train ride during which she and her sister, Ann, traveled together to Knoxville from Pontotoc (at the tender ages of 12 and 6) to join their parents when they first moved to East Tennessee. She reminisced about lying in bed at her Aunt Gracie’s house in Nashville, with no air conditioning, sweltering, during the regular summer stints at the Vanderbilt Divinity School Library under her aunt’s tutelage. Then there was her daring trip to Mexico City with Gracie, in the 1950s (via bus!).
GG often spent time in the Smokies, and some of her other adventures include the time she made the difficult climb up the front of the Chimney Tops at the ripe age of 50, with Jane and Catherine. Another memorial hiking trip, with her family, was to Spence Field where she supported the fending off of a hungry bear that interrupted the family as they picked blueberries and sunbathed, and had to be chased away by a shoe to its nose.
GG was also an accomplished pianist and a dedicated gardener. A naturally commanding presence, GG did not hesitate to “boss around” her next younger sister, Ann, who was able to return the favor in the past 18 months as Ann cared for GG at home.
We recall Ann and GG watching football (or basketball) games with a glass of white wine in one hand and Cheetos in the other. GG loved to cook (just kidding), but despite that, she made delicious fried chicken and always the best of the best carrot cake for family occasions.
IF you wish to memorialize Jeanette, consider a donation to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
She will be missed.
To leave your condolences please visit www.woodhavenfh.com
The staff of Woodhaven Funeral Home & Memorial Gardens is honored to serve the Sidney Jeanette Wiley McMaster family.