Courtney Ann Shows

Mrs. Courtney Ann Garner Shows, 84, a resident of Luverne, Alabama, passed away unexpectedly at Flowers Hospital in Dothan on Monday, December 26th, 2022. Funeral services for Courtney Ann will be held at 11 AM on Thursday, December 29th, at Luverne United Methodist Church with Rev. Brennan Peacock officiating. Interment will follow in Luverne Emmaus Cemetery with Turners Funeral Home of Luverne directing. The family will receive friends at the church on Thursday for one hour prior to the service.

Courtney Ann proudly received her bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from the University of Alabama and later her master's in Elementary Education from Auburn University. Even from a younger age, she was always a go-getter. She excelled at anything she did because she firmly believed that anything worth doing was worth doing well. She was a successful business owner in the 1960s, a day and time where a woman owning her own business was a true trailblazer. She founded Whitesburgh Preschool in Huntsville while living there and it is still going strong today. She also owned and operated English's in Luverne for many years. Courtney Ann also served as the vice president of the National Alumni Association for the University of Alabama. She believed in staying as active as possible in her community throughout the years. She was a member of the Luverne Garden Club and served on several committees at Luverne United Methodist Church. She always made sure to keep both her mind and body active, which kept her in good health for so many years.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a woman who knew her mind better than Courtney Ann. She was a strong-willed and determined woman who never shied away from the truth or an opinion. However, she was also a very compassionate and outgoing person as well. She truly cherished her years teaching both in both elementary school and high schools. Courtney was devoted to her students as she taught all over the area from Pintlala to CCA, Highland Home, and Luverne. She especially loved her 5th grade classes and tried to make every day a wondrous learning experience for them. Whether it was building a fish pond in her classroom or taking her students to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, she ensured they received a well-rounded education and left her class as better students and citizens. Above all, Courtney Ann was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother who cherished her family. She was fortunate to have found and enjoyed love more than once in her life, so she certainly had a life well-lived. Words cannot express how much her passing has left those who loved her grief-stricken, but they will find comfort in the cherished memories they made over a lifetime.

Courtney Ann was preceded in death by her husband, Larry Garner, and parents, Toddy & Mary Alice Bonner Thames. She is survived by her adoring husband of 13 years, Tom Shows; children, Ashley (Holland) Porter, Missy Anderson, and Troy (Lane) Garner; grandchildren, Courtney Porter, Ella Garner, and Miller Garner; sister, Marilyn (Jim) Parker; niece, Paige Graham; nephew, Jimmy Parker; grandnephew, Tristen Thompson; grandniece, Neely Thompson; and a host of other extended family members and friends.

Active pallbearers will be Doug Brown, Ray Hilburn, Jimmy Morgan, Tom Perdue, Allen Sexton, Merrill Sport, Randy Watts, and Art Wise. Honorary pallbearers will be Michael E. Jones, Roy D. Lamb, William Petrey, Charles Sport, Robert Sport, and John M. Wise Sr.

The family requests that any memorial donations be made to the Luverne United Methodist Church.