Doris S. Plemmons Barber

Doris S. (Plemmons) Barber, 85, went to be with her Lord on Thursday, April 9, 2015. A native of Johnson City, she was a 1947 graduate of Science Hill High School and a 1951 graduate of Memorial Mission Hospital School of Nursing in Asheville, N.C. She earned her Red Cross, R.N. status by volunteer care for post-polio patients. She served her alma mater as head nurse of Pediatrics for 18 years. She retired from nursing in 1970 and moved to the Atlanta area to care for her new family. She returned to Johnson City in 1994 and was active in the ministries of Central Baptist Church, including the senior Joy Choir and the McNees Sunday School class. She was preceded in death by her parents, Marvin and Henrietta Sluder; her sister, Alma Jean Jones; her first husband, Paul L. Plemmons; and her second husband, Bill G. Barber. Survivors include her brother, Eddie Sluder of Leland, Miss., three sons, Paul Lee (Dr. Rita) Plemmons II of Erwin; Stephen M. Barber, of Memphis; Alan C. (Penny) Barber of Fayetteville, Ga.; one daughter, Marci B. (Michael) Pressley of Franklin. Survivors also include grandchildren Abigail and Sarah Plemmons; Rebecca, Coston, Mari-Whitten and Eliza Barber; Merrell and Maxwell Pressley; and several nieces and nephews. A memorial service of praise and thanksgiving is scheduled for Monday, April 13 at 11 a.m. in the sanctuary of Central Baptist Church. Rev. Darwin Caldwell, pastor of Jefferson Avenue Baptist Church in East Point, Ga., will preside. Family and friends are invited to gather in the atrium of Central Baptist Church beginning at 10 a.m. An interment service at the cemetery of Newfound Baptist Church in Asheville, N.C., will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts to Central Baptist Church, designated to the Lottie Moon or Annie Armstrong Southern Baptist missions offerings or to the Central Baptist Church Joy Choir.