HAMILTON COUNTY
Rena Blair
Rena Louise "Dimples" Blair, 61, of Chattanooga, passed away Monday, Feb. 8, 2010, in a local health care facility.
Memorial service is at 1:30 p.m. today in the chapel of Taylor Funeral Home with Shauna Wooten officiating.
Roger Burgess
Roger Kent Burgess, 54, of Chattanooga, died Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010, at a local hospital of complications from pneumonia.
Services will be held at 3 p.m. today in the chapel with Dr. Larry Draper and Dr. Calvin Janssen officiating.
Burial will be at Greenwood Cemetery.
Visit www.heritagefh.com to share words of comfort to the family. The family wishes to thank all of the staff, nurses and CNAs at Standifer Place.
The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service today at Heritage Funeral Home, East Brainerd Road.
Mary Campbell
Mary Beatrice Campbell, 89, of Falling Water, Hixson, passed away Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010.
Arrangements will be announced by the North Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory & Florist, 5401 Highway 153, Hixson, TN 37343.
Harmon Colby
Harmon R. Colby, 96, of Chattanooga, died peacefully Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010, with his family at his side.
Survivors and complete funeral arrangements will be announced by Chattanooga Funeral Home, East Chapel, 404 S. Moore Road.
Betty Neligan
Ann "Betty" Elizabeth Neligan, 79, of Chattanooga, passed away Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010, after an extended illness.
She was born March 20, 1930, in Chattanooga to the late Nicholas and Ann Stolpmann Neligan.
Betty was a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church. She had worked at South Chicago Community Hospital and Memorial Hospital as a registered nurse and retired from Erlanger Medical Center as a histology technologist. She also served with Catholic Charities.
Her brother, Nicholas M. Neligan Jr., preceded her in death.
Survivors include her sister and caregiver, Louise Neligan, of Chattanooga; sister, Mary "Bunny" Neligan West and her husband, Vernon of Ellijay, Georgia; and many cousins and close friends also survive.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church with Father Jim Vick officiating.
Burial will follow at Mount Olivet Cemetery.
The family will receive friends from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the East Chapel.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Chattanooga Area Food Bank, 2009 Curtain Pole Road, Chattanooga, TN 37406.
Please share your thoughts and memories at www.mem.com.
Arrangements are by Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory & Florist, 404 S. Moore Road, Chattanooga, TN 37412.
Carter Paden Jr.
Carter Northen Paden Jr., 82, died on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010.
Funeral is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. today, Feb. 15, private interment will follow in Forest Hills Cemetery. The Rev. Joe Novenson will officiate.
Memorials can be sent to Teen Challenge, 1108 W. 33rd St., Chattanooga, TN 37410, or to Chattanooga Hospice, 4411 Oakwood Drive, Chattanooga, TN 37416.
The family wishes to thank the caregivers who were so wonderful to our father and mother.
Visit www.lanefh.com to send condolences.
Arrangements are by Lane Funeral Home, 601 Ashland Terrace.
Virginia Park
Virginia Haymore Park, 91, formerly of Chattanooga, died peacefully Friday, Feb. 12, 2010, in Nashville surrounded by members of her family.
Virginia was born on Sept. 29, 1918, in Chattanooga to the late Nick C. and Agnes Walker Haymore. Her maternal grandparents were the late Judge James and Margaret Mullin Walker, of Waco, Texas, and the late Rev. Robert Daniel and Charlotte Read Haymore, of North Carolina. Virginia was married to the late St. John Park. She had one sibling, her beloved sister, the late Berry Jean Oliver Crowe (Mrs. Pat Crowe Sr.), of Chattanooga. She was the sister in-law of the late Mary P. Mayo (Mrs. George Arnold Mayo), Dr. German Pittman Haymore and Nathan R. Haymore, all of Chattanooga, and the late Dr. Robert T. Park, formerly of Chattanooga and Florida.
Virginia grew up on Signal Mountain. She attended St. Anthony School, Notre Dame High School and Ursuline College in Paola, Kan. A talented pianist, she graduated from the Cadek Conservatory of Music in Chattanooga. In addition to recitals performed at the Conservatory, Virginia gave piano performances on radio station WDOD in Chattanooga.
On April 15, 1939, Virginia married St. John Park at St. Augustine Chapel of the Alexian Brotherhood on Signal Mountain, the first wedding to be held at that chapel. After the birth of their eighth child, Virginia and St. John moved from Signal Mountain to Madonna Acres in Chattanooga. The family became members of the Parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH). A lifelong Catholic, Virginia was a member of the Ladies of Charity and the Altar Society at St. Augustine Chapel and OLPH. The parents of 12 children, Virginia and St. John were married for 53 years before his death in 1991.
After their children were grown, Virginia returned to college to fulfill her dream of earning a nursing degree. She obtained an LPN degree at Cleveland State Community College. She then earned her bachelor of nursing degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1977 at the age of 58. The Chattanooga Times/Free Press recognized Virginia's accomplishment of graduating from college after raising 12 children with a full-length article. Virginia practiced nursing at various Chattanooga hospitals, and in the latter part of her career, made home health visits to the elderly throughout East Tennessee.
Virginia was a gentle soul who was unusually gifted. In addition to being a talented pianist, she was also a singer, dancer, gourmet cook, artist, seamstress, knitter and embroiderer. She was equally comfortable with a hammer repairing doors and windows as she was with knitting needles making baby blankets. She was a beloved mother to her 12 children and filled their young years with the bounties of her creative abilities. She sewed her five daughters' clothes by hand, including communion, confirmation, prom dresses, and one daughter's full-length satin wedding dress. She nursed her seven sons' cuts, bruises, and sometimes damaged egos after boyhood games. Twelve times a year she made desserts from scratch to the precise specification of whichever child was celebrating his or her birthday. Virginia was an artistic designer, and on each holiday, using only natural materials in ingenious ways, she transformed the family home into a wonderland for her children.
Virginia and St. John loved to dance, and became expert in the art of folk and square dancing. They were founding members of the Chattanooga Cotillion Squares. To the end of her life, Virginia never forgot to play the piano, sing her favorite hymn, or tap her toes to the sound of a lively song. She will always be revered by her children for the selfless nurturing and unconditional love she provided them throughout their lives.
Virginia was a descendant of men and women who were patriots, ministers, scientists, and educators. Her grandfather Haymore was the first pastor of the Central Baptist Church in Chattanooga in the 1890s. Her grandmother Haymore's own great-grandfather, Nathan Read, fought in the American Revolutionary War alongside Gen. Jackson, and was a close associate of Presidents James Monroe and Andrew Jackson. Virginia's maternal great-grandfather, John Walker, fought with Washington at Yorktown, Va., at the time of Cornwallis' surrender to the American patriots. Mariah Leverett Walker, Virginia's great-grandmother, converted the family home in Monroe, Ga., in the mid-1800s to a boarding school for the education of young ladies after her children were grown. Virginia's grandfather Walker, emigrated to Texas from Georgia, during the early days of Texas' statehood. He served as a circuit judge during the Civil War and later lectured in law at Baylor University in Waco. A pioneer in voice transmission by telephone, he was also an astronomer and inventor, studying the movement of the stars from the observatory he installed at his home in Waco and filing a patent on a "flying machine" that he built in the 1890s. Virginia's grandmother Walker was respected for her many humanitarian and cultural contributions to Waco and was the daughter of emigrants from Ireland who settled in San Antonio after fighting for the statehood of Texas in the Mexican War.
Virginia's beloved husband, St. John, and son, Thomas Park, preceded her in death.
She is survived by 11 of her 12 children, Mary Hausman (Gerry), Patrick (Patsy), Kathleen Childs (Gene), Rose Cantrell (Ben), Michael (Patricia), Christopher, Edward, Paul (Carolyn), Margaret Moss (David), Andrew (Denise) and Theresa Park. Also surviving are 20 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; and many beloved Park, Mayo, Crowe, Haymore and Walker nephews, nieces and cousins.
The family will receive visitors from 5 to 7 p.m. today at the Chattanooga Funeral Home, 404 S. Moore Road, Chattanooga, and from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Holy Family Room at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated in honor of Virginia's life at the church at 11 a.m. Tuesday with Father Jim Vick officiating.
Interment will take place at Mount Olivet Cemetery.
Pallbearers include her sons and grandsons.
The family would like to express its sincere appreciation to the devoted staff at the Barton House, Homewood Residence and Caris Hospice, all of Nashville, for their loving care of Virginia.
Memorial contributions may be made to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, 501 S. Moore Road, Chattanooga, TN 37412, or the Alzheimer's Association National Office, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Floor 17, Chicago, IL 60601.
Please share your thoughts and memories at www.mem.com.
Arrangements are by the Chattanooga Funeral Home, East Chapel.
Richard Peaslee
Richard Selby Peaslee, of Chattanooga, passed away Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010.
Funeral arrangements will be announced by the North Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory & Florist, 5401 Highway 153, Hixson, TN 37343.
Harold Sands
Thomas Harold Sands, 77, went to be with the Lord on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010.
Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday in the funeral home chapel on Ashland Terrace with the Rev. Randy Bell and Dr. Al Goss officiating.
Interment will be in Hamilton Memorial Gardens with military honors.
Pallbearers are Elmos Benefield, Don Clift, Gary Miller, George Blake, Don Oldham and Alan Bazzell.
Visitation is from 1 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. today at Lane Funeral Home on Ashland Terrace.
Condolences may be sent to www.lanefh.com.
Arrangements are by Lane Funeral Home, 601 Ashland Terrace.
Faye Sparks
Faye Jewell Sparks, 90, of East Ridge, passed away Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010, at a local hospital.
She was a native of the High Point, Ga., community. She was a 1937 graduate of Chattanooga Valley High School, attended Edmondson Business School and worked as a bookkeeper for many years. After retirement she worked as a sitter for elderly patients.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Washington Sparks; daughter, Linda Janice Sparks; brothers, Doyle C. Sparks, Taylor M. Sparks and Edwin G. Sparks; and sister, Thelma Sparks McCallie.
Survivors include her daughters and sons-in-law, Faye and Buddy Greene and Kaye and Steve Thompson; sons, Wayne and Michael Sparks; grandchildren, Bruce E. Dyer Sr., Jimmy Allen and Brian Sparks; great-grandson, Bruce E. Dyer Jr.; and numerous nieces and nephews and other relatives.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday in the South Crest Chapel.
Burial will follow at Lakewood Memory Gardens.
Visit www.lane-southcrestchapel.com to send condolences.
The family will receive friends from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the South Crest Chapel of Lane Funeral Home, Rossville.
Henry Stoloff
Henry Stoloff, 54, of Chattanooga, passed away Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010, at his residence of natural causes.
Henry graduated from McCallie School, where he was yearbook editor, and Keo-Kio president, and a graduate of Duke University with a degree in Judaic studies/archaeology.
Henry operated the family business Angel Printing for many years before becoming an agent for Chattanooga Real Estate Consultants. His civic involvement included participation in Leadership Chattanooga, Bill Holmberg Arts Leadership Institute; past chairman of the Mission District B.S.A., Eagle Scout and recipient of the Shofar and Silver Beaver Awards; was a member of the Chattanooga Urban League Board; inaugural co-president of CSLA-PTA; and past president of his beloved congregation, Mizpah, with his most recent commitment being co-chair of Social Action.
Henry was preceded in death by his parents, Herbert Stoloff and Sarah Morris Stoloff.
He is survived by his wife Bonnie Baumgardner Stoloff; son, James A. Stoloff; daughter, Sarah Stoloff; sister, Elizabeth "Buffy" Stoloff Vehse; niece and nephew; and several cousins.
Family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. today at J. Avery Bryan Funeral Home.
Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010, at Mizpah Congregation, 923 McCallie Ave., with burial and meal of consolation to follow.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Rabbinc Endowment Fund or Music Fund.
Thoughts and memories may be shared at www.javerybryan.com.
Arrangements are by J. Avery Bryan Funeral Home, 1914 McCallie Ave., 423-266-2131, (Corner of McCallie Avenue and Beech St.).
Stacy Vandergriff
Stacy Allison Vandergriff, 51, of Chattanooga, passed away Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010.
Funeral arrangements will be announced by the North Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory & Florist, 5401 Hwy 153 Hixson, TN 37343.
TENNESSEE
Eunice Blackwell
DECATUR - Eunice Blackwell passed away Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010.
Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010, in the chapel of Ralph Buckner Funeral Home of Etowah, Tenn., www.ralphbucknerofetowah.
Interment: Lakewood Memory Gardens.
Her family will begin receiving friends at the funeral home after 1 p.m. today, Feb. 15, 2010.
Harriet Freeman
LaVERGNE - Harriet S. Freeman, 80, formerly of Tullahoma, Tenn., passed away Friday, Feb. 12, 2010.
A memorial service will be at 1 p.m. CST Thursday, Feb. 18, at the First United Methodist Church in Tullahoma.
Visitation: from 5 to 8 p.m. CST Tuesday at the funeral home.
Tullahoma Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements, 931-455-4567.
Hubert Green
ETOWAH - Hubert Porter Green, 87, died Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010, at Woods Memorial Hospital.
Service will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17, South Chapel.
Visitation: 5-7 prior to service.
Committal service: 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, New Bethel Cemetery.
Bordwine Funeral Home of Etowah is in charge of arrangements.
Jerre Hookey
SOUTH PITTSBURG - Jerre F. Hookey, 71, passed away Saturday evening, Feb. 13, 2010, in a Chattanooga health care facility.
The son of the late Joseph Wheeler and Zell Katherine Coburn Hookey.
Some of his greatest accomplishments in life, in addition to his family, were graduation from South Pittsburg High School in 1957; serving his country in the U.S. Air Force at Biggs Air Force Base in El Paso, Texas, from 1958 to 1963; earning a bachelor of science degree from Tennessee Technological University in 1968; Naval Ordinance Systems Command Field Safety from 1968 to 1970; and Dixie Cement Co. from 1970 to 1994, when he retired.
He loved his wife and family, enjoyed vegetable gardening, woodworking and most especially, traveling throughout the United States, Germany and England with his wife.
He was preceded in death by brothers, Donald, Clayton and J.R. Hookey, and sister, Bertha Houchins.
He is survived by his wife, Julia Gilliam Hookey; daughter, Dianne Quick; son, Robert Hookey; brothers, Kenneth and Bobby Hookey; sister, Betty Rogers; five grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be conducted from the South Pittsburg Chapel of Rogers Funeral Home at 2 p.m. CST on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010, with the Rev. Joe Moore officiating.
Interment will be in Cumberland View Cemetery.
The family will gather with friends for visitation today from 6-9 p.m. CST at Rogers Funeral Home in South Pittsburg.
The family requests that memorial contributions in memory of Mr. Hookey be made to the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, P.O. Box 931517, Cleveland, OH 44193-1655, or Hospice of Chattanooga, 4411 Oakwood Drive, Chattanooga, TN 37416.
Condolences may be sent at www.rogersfuneralhome.com.
Viva Jones
DAYTON - Viva Bernice Jones, 64, passed away Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010, in Hixson.
Survivors include her husband, Lyndale Jones Sr., and several children, grandchildren and a sister.
Funeral services will be held at noon Tuesday, at the chapel of Coulter Garrison Funeral Home with Brother Pat Green officiating.
Interment: Welsh Rogers Cemetery, Sale Creek.
Edward Smith
MOORE COUNTY - Edward Estel Smith, 82, died Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. CST Tuesday in the Tullahoma Funeral Home Chapel with Pastors Mary Williams and Karen Sanders officiating.
Burial with military honors will follow at Head of Hurricane Cemetery in Moore County.
GEORGIA
Russell Avery
TRENTON - Russell C. Avery, 76, passed away Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010.
He served in the U.S. Army and retired from Chattanooga Glass Co.
He was a member of the American Legion, sons of the American Legion and a deacon of Liberty Baptist Church.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Claude and Annie Avery; two sisters, Cleo Avery and Georgia Avery; and brother, Clyde Avery.
Survivors include his loving wife, Betty Avery; daughter, Teresa Crisp; sons, Wayne (Shirley) Avery and Michael (Mitzi) Avery; sister, Nancy Garner; brother, Addison Avery; six grandchildren, Brent Crisp, Jason Crisp, Megan Avery, Ethan Avery, Shannon Avery and Cameron Avery; and several nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday in the Trenton Chapel with Reverend Bufford Hartline and Doctor Terry Trivette officiating.
Interment with military honors will follow in Lake Hills Memorial Gardens.
Visitation: 2-8 p.m. today and 10-11 a.m. Tuesday.
The family would like to thank Hospice of Chattanooga and especially Deborah Dufford, Adria Bautista, Tracy Boyete and Myra Gaddis.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Hospice of Chattanooga.
Arrangements are by Moore Funeral Home, Trenton.
Elizabeth Brooks
RINGGOLD - Elizabeth Lucille Montjoy Brooks, 84, passed away Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010, at a local nursing home.
Graveside services will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Anderson Memorial Gardens with Brother Ken Pitts officiating.
The family will receive friends from 1 to 2 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.
Arrangements are by Wilson Funeral Home Wallis-Stewart Chapel Ringgold.
Merle Mullins
WARNER ROBINS - Merle Ashworth Mullins, 99, passed away Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010.
Mrs. Mullins was born in Oneida, Tenn., to the late John and Delia Teague Ashworth and was the widow of O. Maxwell Mullins. She was a member of Tyner United Methodist Church and retired from the Hamilton County Board of Education, where she taught at Missionary Ridge Elementary School.
Survivors include her daughter Maxine (Dave) Hopper, of Bonaire, Ga.; grandchildren, Amy (Michael) Ayres, of Warner Robins, Mike (Frankie) Hopper, of Sandy Springs, Ga., and Doug (Karen) Hopper, of Williamstown, N.J.; and eight grandchildren.
Graveside funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Chattanooga National Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Trinity United Methodist Church Prayer Garden, 129 S. Houston Roa, Warner Robins, GA 31088, or the Warner Robins Animal Shelter.
The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Heritage Memorial Funeral Home, Warner Robins.
Frances Rosser
SUMMERVILLE- Frances Jean Rosser, 79, died Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010.
Survivors: brother, Paul Rosser, and sisters, Josephine Baggett, Hilda Reynolds and Ada Morgan.
Funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010, from the Mason Funeral Home chapel.
Visitation: 6-8 p.m. today.
Arrangements are by Mason Funeral Home.
Isaac Taylor
TRENTON - Isaac Franklin "June Bug" Taylor, 75, passed away Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010.
He was a lifelong resident of Dade County, Ga., and was a member of Mount Olive Baptist Church.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Pete and Mae Taylor, and brothers, Lewis Taylor and Ned Taylor.
He is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, Leunia Cagle Taylor; daughter, Chrystal Crane; daughter and son-in-law, Paula and Barry Blalock; grandchildren, Maranda Crane-McNeese, Scotty Crane, Joseph Crane, Eddie Stevens, Jacob Stevens and Hunter Blalock; great-granddaughter, Jordyn Crane; brothers, Don Taylor and Ron Taylor; and sister, Margaret "Cricket" McDonald.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the Trenton Chapel with Reverend Glen Tilley and Reverend Jimmy Hixon officiating.
Burial will follow in Brown's Gap Cemetery.
Visitation: 2-9 p.m. today and noon-2 p.m. Tuesday.
Arrangements are by Moore Funeral Home, Trenton.
ALABAMA
Dora Martin
GADSDEN - Dora Ella White Martin, 76, passed away Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. CST Tuesday, Feb. 16, from W.T. Wilson Funeral Chapel with the Rev. Roger White officiating.
Burial will follow in Painter Cemetery with W.T. Wilson Funeral Chapel in charge.
Calvin Stoner
HENAGAR -Calvin Coolidge "Paw-Paw" Stoner, 86, went home to be with the Lord on Friday, Feb. 12, 2010.
He retired from Holsum Bakery and TVA, then worked at Breezy Top Convenience Store for eight years. He was a member of Henagar United Methodist Church, Ider Masonic Lodge and Eastern Star. He loved being outside, working in his garden and watching Atlanta Braves baseball games. He also loved going to church to hear God's word and visiting with friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, George K. and Minnie Davis Stoner; sister, Nellie Stoner Roberts; and brother, Herbert Stoner.
He is survived by his loving wife of 68 years, Bessie Baker Stoner, and daughters, Wilma Stoner (Charlie) Carter, Spring Hill, Tenn., and Elaine Stoner (Joe) Gracey, Gulf Breeze, Fla. He also is survived by three grandsons that he adored, Chuck, Chris and Chad Carter. He had nine great-grandchildren and one surviving sister, Dorothy Lee Stoner, of Henagar.
Funeral services will be held at 5 p.m. CST today, Feb. 15, at Corner Stone Funeral Chapel in Ider, Ala. The Rev. Jerry Hastings and grandson, Dr. Christopher Stoner Carter, will be officiating.
Family will receive friends from 2 p.m. CST until service time.
Burial will be held at 12:30 p.m. EST Tuesday, Feb. 16, at Chattanooga National Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to your local Shriner's Temple in honor of Calvin C. Stoner.