Elder Paul Edward Sanders

Elder Paul Edward Sanders, 85, of Union City died Saturday, December 24, 2011, at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Union City. Services will be held on Wednesday, December 28, 2011, at noon at Greater Bethel Church of God in Christ with Bro. Eddie Martin officiating. Entombment will follow in East View Cemetery. Visitation will be held on Tuesday from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the funeral home. He was born September 3, 1926, in Union City, son of the late Dalton and Bertha (Alexander) Sanders. He was a member of Greater Bethel Church of God in Christ, where he was assistant pastor, and was a U.S. Air Force veteran. A graduate of the former Miles High School, he had retired from Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. A community activist and philanthropist, he had built a community youth recreation center to serve black youth in 1963. Survivors include his wife, the former Martha Bradford, whom he married March 24, 1951; three daughters and two sons-in-law, Greta Sanders of Brownsville, Angela and Timothy Hairston of Marietta, Ga., and Dr. Paula Sanders and Dr. Paul Simpson of Murfreesboro; two sons and daughters-in-law, Douglas and Dr. Teresa Sanders of Marietta and Elder Phillip and Mae Sanders of Clinton, Ky.; six grandchildren, Candice Sanders of Brownsville, Brian Sanders of Memphis, Robert Mayers Jr. and Brandon Mayers, both of Nashville, Eric Sanders of Indianapolis and Phillip Sanders Jr. of Clinton; and his brother and sister-in-law, James and Katherine Sanders of Murrieta Calif. He was also preceded in death by his sisters, Pearl Beard, Mattie McNeal and Dorothy Silvertooth. Rawls Funeral Home - 731-885-8110