Thurman B. Prewett, 86, of Memphis, died April 30th, 2009 at Trinity Hospice in Baptist Hospital in Memphis. Thurman is survived by his wife of 68 years, Catherine, and his children, James Thurman Prewett (Pirjo) of Lakeland, TN and Cathy Bell (Ken) of Houston, TX. He also leaves his grandchildren Robert Paul Little (Beeta) and Sean Bradford Prewett. He was born on November 2, 1922 in DeKalb County, Alabama, the youngest of nine children. He served as a Sergeant in the 279th Army Combat Engineers in the European theater in World War II and, severely wounded, returned home to attend Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tenn. He then received both his Masters and Doctors Degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas. As an ordained Baptist minister, Thurman never felt called to be a senior pastor, but rather dedicated his life to Christian Education. He served churches in Texas and Tennessee before becoming Director of Education and Promotion for the Shelby Baptist Association for thirty years where he received national recognition for his efforts to better train the teachers and leaders in local churches. He served as President of the national Metro Association of Religious Education Directors in 1975. He was also named a distinguished leader of the Southern Baptist Religious Education Association in 1990. He was a member of Bellevue Baptist Church. The last 10 years he and his wife have been residents of Kirby Pines where he was know for his kindness and friendly smile. Blessed with a warm, enthusiastic personality and a positive outlook, he found some good in everyone he met and every experience he had. Funeral services will be held May 4th at 2:00 p.m. in Memorial Park Funeral Home. Visitation will be held at 12:30 p.m. before the service. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, memorials be sent to "Love Worth Finding Ministries", PO Box 38300, Memphis, TN 38183. Memorial Park Funeral Home (901)767-8930 www.memorialparkonline.com