Margaret Denton Ashton

Mrs. Margaret Denton Ashton, 89, retired Culleoka Postmaster, long-time resident of School Street in Culleoka and recently of The Bridge in Columbia, died Sunday, February 18, 2007 at NHC Hillview. Funeral services will be conducted Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. at Oakes & Nichols with her grandson-in-law Jay Thornell and David Dault officiating . Burial will be in Friendship Cemetery in Culleoka. The family will visit with friends Monday from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to Central Presbyterian Church, c/o Wayman Andrews, 2607 Culleoka Highway, Culleoka 38451 or Columbia Academy Pre-School, 1101 West 7th Street, Columbia 38401. Notes of sympathy may be sent to www.oakesandnichols.com. A native of the Glendale Community in Maury County, she was the daughter of the late Aude Matthews Denton and Ruth Galloway Denton and a 1936 graduate of Culleoka High School. She was a long-time member of Central Presbyterian Church, where she taught the Women's Sunday School Class for 31 years. Mrs. Ashton retired in 1979 after 38 years as Culleoka Postmaster. In 1941, she was appointed Postmaster, the youngest in the Nation at the time. In 1961, she was appointed Trainer Postmaster for Middle Tennessee, and trained some 80 Postmasters over the years. At the 1965 National Convention of the National League of District Postmasters in St. Paul, Minnesota, she was named "Postmaster of the Year." She received the Superior National Achievement Award and the Special Achievement Award from the U. S. Postal Service. Two of her suggestions were adopted by the Postal Service upgrading efficiency in the system. She was a member of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees. An avid interest in history and genealogy inspired her participation in several organizations including a 57-year membership in the Jane Knox Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, which she served in numerous capacities, including two terms as Regent and was a member of the Capt. James Madison Sparkman Chapter, UDC. Activities in Maury County Historical Society including serving as Associate Editor, with Virginia Alexander, Editor, of MAURY COUNTY REMEMBERS WORLD WAR II, a publication of the Society and serving as a volunteer for the Society's Loose Records Project, saving valuable Maury County records from 1807 to 1874 and placing them on CD-ROM for safe-keeping.Mrs. Ashton was active in the Culleoka Community Club; served as a member of the Maury County Library Board; was appointed a member of the Advisory Committee of the State Department of Public Welfare in Maury County and served as a Director of the Maury County Mental Health Association. She was a newspaper correspondent for THE DAILY HERALD from 1958 - 1965 as writer of the weekly column, "Culleoka Chatter." She was married November 8, 1938 to Harvell James Ashton, who preceded her in death November 7, 1998. Survivors include a daughter and son-in-law, Rebecca and Jimmy Thompson of Culleoka and a granddaughter, Diana (Jay) Thornell of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; a great-granddaughter, Liz Thornell of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and a grandson-in-law, Jerry Knox of Culleoka. She was preceded in death by a granddaughter, Maria Thompson Knox and a brother, Carl Denton. Active pallbearers are Jacky Thompson, Jimmy Williams, Jason Hardison, Robert Thompson, Randall Rummage, and David Dault. Honorary pallbearers include Waymon Andrews, Bill Harris, Hardin Voss, and Hayes Cathey.