CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – A ceremony will be held Thursday, July 19 at 10 a.m. at First Baptist Church in Clarksville to officially designate the naming of a portion of Hwy 41A North, also known as Providence Boulevard, as the Pastor Jimmy Terry, Sr. Memorial Highway.
According to a press release from Rep. Joe Pitts, a presentation of the signage marking the designation will be made to Sister Servella Terry, widow of the late Pastor Jimmy Terry, and she will also make remarks at the event. The public is invited and encouraged to attend.
The Montgomery County delegation of the Tennessee General Assembly sought passage of the bill to honor the life, legacy and memory of Pastor Terry after his passing in June 2017. The legislation was unanimously approved by the House and Senate during 2018, and sets in motion the installation of signs by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
The section of the road that will be designated after the late Pastor Terry, Sr. is from the Red River Bridge northward to Peachers Mill Road.
Pastor Terry, a beloved and iconic citizen of Clarksville-Montgomery County, died in June 2017. He was pastor of Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church on Market Street and he and his wife, Sister Servella Terry, founded the Tabernacle Christian School sharing a campus with the church. His fondness and dedication to his Christian faith started a movement in the community and beyond, with yard signs proclaiming “Jesus is the reason for the season” and “Easter is all about Jesus” during those annual holidays.
Pastor Terry’s influence in the community is credited with the designation of a Wilma Rudolph Events Center in Liberty Park, a bronze statue of the former Olympian from Clarksville that sits at the entrance of the Center, the naming of Highway 79 in St. Bethlehem from Interstate I24 to the bridge as Wilma Rudolph Boulevard, and so much more.