(October 7, 1969 - February 17, 2011)

Mrs. Christy Hughes McKee, age 41, wife of Earl McKee, and a resident of Columbia passed away early Thursday morning, February 17, 2011 at her home surrounded by her family.

Funeral services held in the chapel of Heritage Funeral Home. Ty Cobb and John Hayes will be officiating. Burial will follow at Santa Fe Cemetery.

A native Middle Tennessean; Mrs. McKee was a member of the Beech Grove Church of Christ. She attended Spring Hill High School and Columbia State Community College. She has long been a leader in our community and was nominated and selected as a finalist for the 2011 Best of Maury County Outstanding Community Leader. She was the marketing director at Signature Healthcare for seventeen years and inducted into the Signature Healthcare Hall of Fame. (An honor reserved for those who have made a significant contribution in the community.) She was president of the Maury County Health Council, the Maury County Senior Expo, and was the face of the Senior Expo held each year. Mrs. McKee was a graduate of Leadership Maury and active in Maury Alliance activities.

Her pride and joy was her son, Austin, and she spent a great deal of time on activities in which he was involved. She was a volunteer at Columbia Academy during his years there and has supported him in all his endeavors. When Austin took the Hunter Safety Course, so did Christy, and even accompanied him on several hunting trips. Christy was a collector and for years frogs were her passion - until she found one unexpectedly in her house. She loved to travel and enjoyed visiting new places with her family during vacations. Christmas was Christy's favorite holiday, and she made it special for the entire community by decorating her house for the annual holiday "drive-by". Her warmth and hospitality was evident when she hosted family and friends at "the speakeasy" and her home was a gathering place for everyone. Christy was a loving wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and a remarkable friend. Her sense of humor and the easy way she had about her has never been more evident than in recent months. Her love and concern for her family and friends has always been apparent in everything she's done.

In addition to her husband, Mrs. McKee is survived by her son, Austin Beatty; mother, Thelma Hughes; sisters, Tammy Hughes and Jennifer (Allen) Smith all of Columbia; niece, Saranda Smith of Columbia; step-sons, Ken (Macie) McKee and Michael McKee of Columbia and Steve (Kay) McKee of Santa Fe; step-daughter, Lori Jones of Columbia.

She was preceded in death by her father, Charles Everett "Charlie" Hughes and grandparents, Everett and Charlotte Mahon Hughes, and Lonnie and Louise Ferguson.

Active pallbearers are Marshall McKee, Steadman Marlin, Baily Boshers, Caleb Rubert, Taylor Ellis, Tanner Ellis, Alex Rector, Henry Patterson, Joseph Patterson and Taylor Church.

Honorary pallbearers are the stakeholders and residents of Signature Healthcare, Robert and Ginger McKay, Tim and Gwendolyn Warf, Buster Billington, Sandy Hemphill, Cindy Long, and special friends at First Farmers and Merchants Bank.