F

Former Tennessee First Lady Martha Sundquist died Wednesday in Collierville, Tennessee.

She was 88.

Originally from Illinois, she graduated from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois in 1959 where she met her future husband Don Sundquist who would go on to be Tennessee’s governor from 1995 to 2003. He preceded her in death in 2023.

The Sundquists found their way to Tennessee, living in each of the state’s Three Grand Divisions, in Memphis, Shelbyville and Townsend. In 1989, she received a USO appointment by President Ronald Reagan as a member of the Board of Governors.

“She could never believe a girl from Lemont could become a First Lady. But she handled the position, as with all things, with grace and kindness,” her family wrote in her obituary. “Her interests included wildflower beautification of interstate highways, hosting children at the Annual Easter Egg Roll and all things nature-trees, flowers and parks. She was especially proud to have a state forest named after her in Cocke County.”

She is survived by her children: Tania (David) Williamson, Andrea Jeannet and Deke (Donald Kenneth Sundquist, Jr.) and by her beloved grandchildren: Gabby Jeannet (Markos Daskalakis) and Alex Jeannet. Martha is also survived by a large extended family of Swansons, Beyerhelms and Sundquists.

Services are planned at the Tuckaleechee United Methodist Church in Townsend.