Obituary Report for March 17, 2002
Frances Lillian Prater, 80
McMinnville resident and Warren County native Frances Lillian Prater, 80, died March 15 at River Park Hospital after a three-month illness.
A homemaker and a member of Westwood Church of Christ, she was the first woman voted into the Warren County Sports Hall of Fame.
The daughter of Fred Wesley and Ruby Irene Stubblefield Sain Sr., she was preceded in death by brother, Raymond Leon Sain.
She is survived by her husband, Cecil Prater; sons and daughters-in-law, Larry C. and Sydney Prater of McMinnville, Dr. Nick and Patty Prater of Olathe, Kansas; grandchildren, Carole B. Prater of Knoxville, Sean Prater and Breanna Prater, both of Olathe; brother, Fred Wesley Sain Jr. of McMinnville; and sisters, Mary Bailey of Rodessa, La. and Mildred McGiboney of McMinnville.
Services will be held at 4 p.m. today at High’s Chapel with Lee Perkins and Doug Bost officiating. Burial will follow at Gardens of Memory. Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. until time of service today at High’s. Donations may be made to the Tennessee Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation or the American Heart Association.
High Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Southern Standard
(McMinnville, Tenn.) March 17, 2002
James Eugene (Jim) Hennessee, 72
McMinnville resident and Warren County native James Eugene (Jim) Hennessee, 72, died March 15 at River Park Hospital after a brief illness.
A retired maintenance foreman with Carrier, a member of the Church of Christ, Warren Lodge 125 F&AM and a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War, he was the son of Arcie Womack and Icie Lavone Hennessee; and was preceded in death by sisters, Louise Sizemore and Ruby Simmons; and brother, Billy Hennessee.
He is survived by his wife, Ruby Roberts Hennessee; son and daughter-in-law, Brad and Rina Hennessee of McMinnville; daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer and Jeff Carter of Rock Island; grandchildren, Lauren and Brandon Hennessee of McMinnville, Daniel Matthew and Jacob Carter of Rock Island; sisters, Helen Drake of Rochester, Mich., Frances Hale of McMinnville, Maxine McCrary of Smyrna and Judy Hester of Rossville, Ga.; brother, J.D. Hennessee of McMinnville; several nieces and nephews.
Services will be held at 3 p.m. today at High’s Chapel with Richard Bowman officiating. Burial will follow at Mt. View Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 8 a.m. until time of service today at High’s.
High Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Southern Standard
(McMinnville, Tenn.) March 17, 2002
Virginia Mae Lance, 79
McMinnville resident and Warren County native Virginia Mae Lance, 79, died March 14 at NHC Healthcare after an extended illness.
A homemaker and a member of the Church of Christ, she was the daughter of Oscar James and Lola Mae Taylor Harris; and was preceded in death by her husband, Fred Elisha Lance in 1998.
She is survived by brother and sister-in-law, James E. and Peggy Harris of Portland; niece and spouse, Paula and Mike Shinnick of Franklin; nephews and spouses, Daniel and Melanie Harris, Tim and Robin Harris, all of Knoxville; great-nieces and nephews, Ellen and Will Shinnick, Morgan and Seth Harris, Tyler, Sarah and Mae Beth Harris.
Services were held Saturday at High’s Chapel with Daniel Harris officiating. Burial followed at Centertown Cemetery.
High Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Southern Standard
(McMinnville, Tenn.) March 17, 2002
Beecher Myers, 63
Rock Island resident and Grundy County native Beecher Myers, 63, died March 15 at River Park Hospital after an extended illness.
A steel worker with Powermatic and a member of the Baptist Church, he was the son of George and Buennie Rizner Myers; and was preceded in death by his wife, Clara Belle Dixon in 1998; and brother, Vernon Myers.
He is survived by son, Beecher Myers Jr. of Rock Island; daughter and son-in-law, Kay and Jack Haston of Rock Island; grandchildren, Nicholas Ryan Myers, Chanae Danielle Myers and Steven Chad Myers; stepbrother, James Rollins of McMinnville; halfbrother, Arthur Myers of McMinnville; halfsisters, Georgia Bowdin of Summitville and Irene McBride of McMinnville; several nieces and nephews.
Services will be held at 2 p.m. today at High’s Chapel with Bill Hall officiating. Burial will follow at Little Johnny Cemetery in Grundy County. Visitation will be held from 8 a.m. until time of service today at High’s.
High Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Southern Standard
(McMinnville, Tenn.) March 17, 2002
Thomas Herod Burks, 87
Elkhart, Ind., resident and Beech Grove native Thomas Herod Burks, 87, died March 14 at Elkhart General Hospital.
Retired in 1980 from Elkhart Brass Manufacturing where he had been a machinist for 30 years, he served his country in the U.S. Army during World War II seeing action in the Battle of the Bulge. He formerly worked as a maintenance man with Pierce Tool & Die for 10 years and was a life member of Elkhart DAV Chapter 19, Elkhart VFW Post 88, and a former member of Elkhart Moose Lodge 599.
The son of John Willis and Louveena Burks, he was preceded in death by his wife, Josephine Swann in 1990; son, Ralph Thomas; one sister and four brothers.
He is survived by daughters and sons-in-law, Jim and Billie Jo Freeze of Bristol, Ind., Chuck and Linda Lock of Lingonier, Ind., Bill and Louise McDowell, Steve and Carolyn Sherley, all of Elkhart; foster-daughter and her spouse, Larry and Freda Sherley of Dunkirk, Ind.; grandchildren, Sherry Bloom of Elkhart, Terry Pierce of Middlebury, Ind., Tom Marsh of Lingonier, Cindy Bahus of Angola, Ind., Steve Wenzel Jr. of Osceola, Ind., Staff Sgt. Jason Wenzel of Kuwait, and Sean Wenzel of Concord, Mich.; 11 great-grandchildren, eight step-grandchildren, 12 step-great-grandchildren and four step-great-great-grandchildren; brother and sister-in-law, Cecil and Ione Burks of Elkhart; and sisters, Jessie Stacey of Elkhart and Lizzie Burks of McMinnville.
Services will be held at 1 p.m. Monday at Walley-Mills-Zimmerman Funeral Home in Elkhart with Rev. Larry Kurtz and Rev. Russel Jensen officiating. Burial will follow at Rice Cemetery with military graveside rites by Elkhart DAV Chapter 19. Visitation will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. today the funeral home.
Southern Standard
(McMinnville, Tenn.) March 17, 2002
Pierce Mason Butler, 92
Nashville resident and Shelbyville native Pierce Mason Butler, 92, died March 14.
An employee of the finance and administration department of the state of Tennessee, he served his country in the U.S. Army during World War II in France and Germany. He earned his degree in law from the YMCA night law school following the war. He was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church.
The son of the late Sara Shapard and Samuel Goode Butler, he is survived by his wife of 63 years, Susan Jones Butler; daughters and sons-in-law, Susan and Tom Jurka, Sally and Joe Hancock, Julia and Jim Dyer; grandchildren, Sara Hancock Baldwin, Amy Hancock Biggs, Julia Anna Jurka Cashion, Susan, Mary Halliburton, Emily and Wesley Dyer; great-grandchildren, Elizabeth and Jack Baldwin, Greer and Leland Biggs.
Graveside services were held Saturday at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church, 3900 West End Ave. 37205 or Alive Hospice, 1718 Patterson Street, 37209.
Marshall-Donnelly-Combs Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Southern Standard
(McMinnville, Tenn.) March 17, 2002
Clifford Nelms, 77
Lakeland, Fla., resident and McMinnville native Clifford Nelms, 77, died of heart failure March 11 at his home.
A maintenance man, a member of Lakeland Foursquare Church and a U.S. Army veteran of World War II, he is survived by his wife of 54 years, Minnie Lee Nelms; sons, Robert Wesley Nelms and Dwight Engle Nelms, both of Lakeland, and Lee Nelms of Roanoke, Va.; brother, William Nelms of McMinnville; sisters, Lillian Daniel and Dorothy Jean Woodlee, both of McMinnville, and Mildred Jackson of Pensacola, Fla.; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Service were held Wednesday at Lakeland Foursquare Church. Lakeland Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Information courtesy of High Funeral Home.
Southern Standard
(McMinnville, Tenn.) March 17, 2002
Alice Mary Robison Rogers, 89
Manchester resident and Cheyenne, Wyo., native Alice Mary Robison Rogers, 89, died March 14 at Coffee Medical Center after an extended illness.
A retired nurse’s assistant at Crestwood Nursing Home and Good Samaritan Hospital and Nursing Home, a homemaker and a member of Morrison First United Methodist Church and Summitville Church of Christ, she was the daughter of the late Simon Abner and Iretta Belle Richardson Robison.
She is survived by children, Etta Lowery, Betty Adams, Shirley Hobbs, Eston Rogers and Patsy Baldwin, all of Manchester, Celine Bryan of Morrison, Earline McKissick, Paul Rogers and J.B. Rogers, all of Chattanooga and Jenny McCafferty of Evans, Ga.; brothers, Frank Robison of Evans and Paul Robison of Friend, Neb.; 17 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.
Services will be held at 3 p.m. today at Coffee County Funeral Home with Mark McDonald and Rev. Barry Phelps officiating. Burial will follow at Shady Grove Cemetery.
Coffee County Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Southern Standard
(McMinnville, Tenn.) March 17, 2002
Fay L. Stowell, 76
Houghton Lake, Mich., resident and Cadillac, Mich., native Fay L. Stowell, 76, died March 14 after a short illness.
A retired supervisor at Walter Toebe Construction and the owner/operator of Stowell Lakewood Motel in Houghton Lake, he was the son of Lyness and Slyvia Belbach Stowell; and was preceded in death by his wife, Bertha Hancock in 1971; and daughter, Shirley Stowell.
He is survived by his wife, Billie Faye Stowell; sons and daughters-in-law, Frank and Kay Stowell of Leroy, Mich., Thomas Nina Stowell of Redford; daughters and sons-in-law, Carolyn and William Wade of Redford, Diane Wooliver of Cadillac, Debbie Schilling of Redford and Linda Monroe of Lincoln Park; stepsons and their spouses, Darrell Taylor of Tennessee, Dennis and Kathy Taylor of Lincoln Park, Larry Taylor of Clinton Township, Douglas and Nancy Taylor of Bellville; sister, Patricia Lumb of Delaware; sister-in-law, Louise Campbell of Tennessee; 23 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.
Services will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at Christler Funeral Home in Houghton Lake with Rev. Robert Russell officiating. Burial will follow at Maplehill Cemetery in Cadillac. Memorial donations may be made to the Diabetes Association.
Southern Standard
(McMinnville, Tenn.) March 17, 2002
Obern Willard Cantrell, 72
McMinnville resident and DeKalb County native Obern Willard Cantrell, 72, died March 11 at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville after a lingering illness.
A mechanic and a member of the Baptist Church, he was the son of the late Thomas P. and Ressie Cope Cantrell.
He is survived by his wife, Reba Cantrell; daughter and son-in-law, Sahlen and Jimmy Trapp of McMinnville; daughters, Sandra Carter of McMinnville, Vivian Stiles of Panama City, Fla., and Pam Cantrell of Indianapolis, Ind.; brothers, Hansel, Larkin and Wallon Cantrell, all of McMinnville; granddaughters, Amanda and Cassaundra Trapp of McMinnville; and grandsons, Matthew and Jamison Stiles of Panama City.
Private family services were held.
McMinnville Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Southern Standard
(McMinnville, Tenn.) March 17, 2002
James Garmon Davis, 87
Chattanooga resident and McMinnville native James Garmon Davis, 87, died March 13.
A retired terminal manager for Tri-Carolina Transportation, a former terminal manager for ETWNC Transportation, and a long-time member and past president of the Chattanooga Motor Carrier Association and past member of Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, he was a member of Christ’s Family Church in McMinnville.
The son of the late James Harrison and Ethel Adeline Davis, he was preceded in death by his wife, Marcella Weekley Davis; brother, Oliver Davis and sister, Clayta Duncan.
He is survived by sons, William G. Davis of Buena Vista, Colo., James M. Davis of Chattanooga and David M. Davis of Harrison; brother, William (Bill) Davis of McMinnville; sisters, Frances Woods of McMinnville, Virginia Scholl of Rock Spring, Ga., and Jimmy Faye Dockery of Hixson; eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
Services will be held at 3 p.m. today at Christ’s Family Church in McMinnville. Memorial contributions may be made to Christ’s Family Church, 2285 South Chancery Street, McMinnville 37110.
Southern Standard
(McMinnville, Tenn.) March 17, 2002