Mary Jo Ormsby of Castalian Springs passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Friday, February 20, 2026, at the age of 75. She was a devoted wife, loving mother, and generous grandmother.
Mrs. Ormsby was born November 23, 1950, in Nashville, Tennessee, to the late Joseph
Scudder Zinkan and Lois Margaret Thompson Zinkan. She lived a life of fidelity and compassion and was a steady rock of dedicated care and gentleness to everyone who knew her. She graduated high school from St. Bernard Academy and went on to pursue a career as a Registered Nurse.
After moving to Sumner County, she worked for Sumner Regional Medical Center for more than thirty years, spending twenty in the Emergency Room and ten in Same-Day Surgery. She retired from nursing in 2015 and enjoyed serving her family by hosting get-togethers and holidays with her delicious meals, lavishing her grandchildren with gifts and outings, and caring for her loved ones as they aged. Mary Jo loved to laugh and had a wonderful sense of humor. Her family was of primary importance to her, and she would be the first to sacrifice for the good of each member. Her life was marked by unconditional love and kindness.
Mary Jo is survived by her husband of 53 years, Robert Walter Ormsby, Jr.; her children:
sons, Rob (Kelly) Ormsby and Michael Ormsby, and daughter, Amanda (Evan) Willhite; and her grandchildren: Ian Ormsby, Sonny Willhite, Lyla Willhite, Tice Willhite, and Levi Willhite.
Along with her parents, she was preceded in death by her sister Sandra Kay Zinkan Cobb.
A Funeral Mass will be held on Friday, February 27, at 11:00 a.m. at St. John Vianney
Catholic Church in Gallatin. Interment will follow in Sumner Memorial Gardens. Visitation with the family will be on Thursday, February 26, at Sellars Family Heritage in Gallatin from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. with the Rosary being prayed at 5:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
Tennessee, 131 Sanders Ferry Road, Suite B, Hendersonville, TN 37075.
Arrangements entrusted to Sellars Family Heritage Funeral Home, 100 East Albert
Gallatin Avenue, Gallatin, TN 37066 (615) 452-7115. Online condolences can be made at
sellarsfh.com.
For more obituaries visit our obituaries page.
This obituary was published by Sellars Family Heritage at Gallatin.
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