Ann “Sandy” Griffin Minor died peacefully Thursday, March 16, 2023, surrounded by family, in Paris, Tennessee.
Sandy was born to Catherine Clare McLaughlin and Paul Frederick Griffin Sunday, September 29, 1935, in New York, New York.
Sandy’s formal name was Grania Ann Catherine Worner McLaughlin Griffin, a combination of names gleaned from the McLaughlin family lineage. In her youth, her father served as an officer in the U.S. Navy. She traveled throughout the United States and Europe with her parents and elder brother, Paul Frederick Griffin, Jr., attending fourteen schools during her early education.
Sandy studied nursing at Vanderbilt University and was a member of Alpha Omicron Pi. It was there that she met her future husband, Thomas McSwain Minor. The couple married in Princeton, New Jersey, on August 4, 1956, then returned to Nashville and Vanderbilt University. In 1957, Sandy graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Vanderbilt, and her husband completed medical school before starting his residency in Indianapolis, Indiana, with the U.S. Army. In December 1957, they welcomed the first of their four children. The family returned to Paris, Tennessee, in 1965, where Dr. Minor established his surgical practice.
Sandy served the Parisian community as a volunteer at schools and sports organizations, Cub Scouts Den Mother, and Brownie Troop Leader. She cheered on her children in academic and sports activities. Sandy found fellowship and camaraderie with other women through these and other activities. The group was later coined the “Lunch Bunch.” The weekly gathering evolved into decades of life-long friendships that continue today, every Tuesday. Sandy was an active Holy Cross Catholic Church member who volunteered as a Lector and Eucharistic Minister until the onset of the Covid pandemic. In 2022, she was honored as one of the Church’s eldest active parishioners.
In January 1982, Sandy returned to her nursing profession as a clinical instructor in nursing at the Murray State University School of Nursing and Health Professions in Murray, Kentucky. As a self-described nurse who “fell into teaching,” Sandy educated thousands of students throughout her career. After her retirement in the fall of 2016 at 81 years of age, she reflected, “When I teach, I touch the future.”
Four children and a dear niece survive Sandy: Thomas (Susan) Minor, Coral Springs, FL; Paul (Merrill) Minor, San Antonio, TX; Catherine (Rusty) Culley, Paris, TN, Drs. Randall (Christy) Minor, Paris, TN, and Lisa Griffin (Michael) Imperiale, San Bernadino, CA. Sandy experienced the joy of 11 grandchildren: Marie (Lee) Wilburn, Columbia, MO; Michael (Whitney) Culley, Paris, TN; Garrett Minor, MD, Lexington, KY; Michelle Culley, Park City, UT; Matthew Culley, Knoxville, TN, Clare Minor, Gulf Shores, AL, Thomas Minor III, Coral Springs, FL, Andrew Minor, Memphis, TN, Anna Minor, Paris, TN, Anna Parks Minor, San Antonio, TX, Cannon Minor, San Antonio, TX and five great-grandchildren: Griffin Culley of Chattanooga, TN, Lee Wilburn IV and Bennett Wilburn of Columbia, MO, and Aubrey Culley and Harper Culley of Paris, TN.
She was preceded by her husband of 58 years: Thomas McSwain Minor, Sr. MD and his parents: Woodrow “Red” and Lona Muriel (McSwain) Minor, as well as members of the Griffin family, including parents: Catherine and Paul Griffin; her brother: Paul Jr., wife Louise (Magagna) and their son Paul “Grif” III.