To pay tribute to Brittney Terry, comment the impact she had at APSU
By PATRICK ARMSTRONG
Editor in Chief
“And when the night is cloudy/There is still a light that shines on me/Shine on until tomorrow, let it be/I wake up to the sound of music,/Mother Mary comes to me/speaking words of wisdom, let it be.”
“Let It Be” is one of The Beatles’ most popular songs and for one APSU student, this song will be played at her celebration of life service at 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 31, at Neal-Tarpley-Parchman Funeral Home.
On Thursday, March 25, freshman chemistry major Brittney Terry was driving down Jarman Hollow Road in the after noon with her friend Jennifer Story when her mom’s Saturn slid off the road and hit a tree.
According to her mother, Michelle Terry, the preliminary report on the wreck suggests the cause was due to the road conditions of the rain and speeding.
Brittney Terry was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where she later died on Friday, March 26, about 3:25 a.m., according to Vanderbilt officials. Story was taken to Gateway Medical Center with minor injuries.
Brittney Terry and Story were actually leaving to go prom dress shopping for the Montgomery County High School prom on Saturday, April 24. Chris Goodrich, 17-year-old senior at MCHS and pallbearer, asked Terry to be his date for his senior prom.
At Terry’s senior prom last year, she was stood up by her date. “She was always the happiest person so she really didn’t care that her date ditched her,” Goodrich said. Goodrich and Terry met up at last year at prom with other friends and hung out together.
“I told her she needed a prom that she would like to remember and I offered to take her to prom with me [this year].”
Phillip Shingler, freshman biology major, said he had known Terry since middle school band.
“It was hard to comprehend it because I just saw her the day before [the wreck]. She was always helpful and friendly. She would go out of her way to help others no matter what it was,” Shingler said.
Brittney Terry was a member of the APSU color guard and began twirling in high school.
“Color guard was the center of her life,” Michelle Terry said. Every time her mother called, Brittney Terry was either practicing or hanging out with friends in the UC.
Josh Lundrigan, freshman accounting major at UT Martin, met Terry at band camp in July.
“She was the one of the people who inspired me to join the guard world. Now every time I spin, I will always think of her. The way the flag flows though the wind, it’s her blowing her sweet spirit on the guard world,” he said.
Michelle Terry said her daughter did not want to march clarinet in high school as she had previously. Brittney Terry had taken dance before, so her mother convinced her to try out for color guard. “She was hooked ever since.”
Michelle Terry is also an APSU student but is majoring in biology. “She didn’t want me to start the same time as she did, so I respected her wishes.” Michelle Terry returned to school this spring.
“She wanted to be a chemistry teacher. We always joked about teaching at the same school and aggravating kids together,” she said.
“We still had that love-hate relationship between mother and daughter. She was starting to pull her life together. Most of the time she had a smile on her face. Her smile was so beautiful.”
Rebecca Riels, APSU freshman, said she met Terry in kindergarten where Terry taught Riels how to tie her shoes.
“We used to play ‘Powerpuff Girls’ in her backyard. I would never let her be Bubbles. I had to be Bubbles,” Riels said.
Terry impacted the lives of many of her friends and family. “It is more than an honor to be asked to be a pallbearer. I will never forget the wonderful memories of [Little Shop of Horrors] freshman year and amazing smile Brittany always carried,” said RJ Taylor, sophomore political science major.
Not only did Brittney Terry impact her friend’s lives, she also helped the lives of others. “Right now Brittney lives in three different states: Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina,” said Elizabeth Goodrich, teacher at MCHS.
She explained that Terry was an organ donor and all of her organs were used except for her right lung, which was damaged, and eyes, per request of the family; her bone marrow was banked.
“As of [Sunday, March 28], seven people had a longer life because of Brittney. That is exactly what she would have wanted,” Goodrich said. One of the organ recipients was a five-year-old girl. “I hope they dance,” said Margaret Terry, grandmother to Terry.
Riels’ comment about one of Brittney Terry’s memorable quotes was, “She was a dancer and always said ‘Life is about not waiting for the rain to stop.’”
Brittney Terry was born December 10, 1990, and was the only child of Brian Thur, of Nashville, and Michelle Terry, of Palmyra, Tenn. She was the only grandchild to her maternal grandparents, Lonnie E. and Margaret Terry, of Palmyra and her paternal grandparents are Jake and Shirley Hunn, of Hobart, Okla.
Pallbearers are Chris Hayes, Chris Goodrich, Ted Gilcrest, Jim Treier, Scott Davis and R.J. Taylor. Memorials can be made to the American Cancer Society towards breast cancer at 2000 Charlotte Ave., Nashville, Tenn. 37203-2003.
Arrangements are entrusted to Neal-Tarpley-Parchman Funeral Home 1510 Madison St., Clarksville, Tenn. 37040. A celebration of life service will be held at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 31. Visitation will be 1 p.m. until time of service. Burial will be in Hopewell Baptist Church Cemetery.
Riels mentioned a game they made up where they would ask a question and try to answer it with a Beatles song.
“She was a die-hard Beatles fan. I asked myself ‘Why?’ [after her death].” She answered with tears in her eyes, “And once again, God pulls through and say’s ‘Let It Be.’”
Editor’s Note: Some of the people quoted in the story are friends of the author.
ADDITION (Tuesday, March 30): Ted Gilcrest could not be pallbearer due to a meeting. Phillip Shingler will now be a pallbearer in his place.
