Billie Epps

Mrs. Billie Epps, of the Lock Seven Community, was pronounced dead at 4:45 p.m. Friday afternoon, July 24, 2014, at the age of 81 at the Riverview Regional Medical Center in Carthage. Born Billie Joy Watson in Sevierville in Sevier County on May 10, 1933, she was one of three children of the late Richard Melvin "Mel" Watson and Johnnie Louise Majors Watson. She was preceded in death by a brother, Melvin Watson Jr. On Dec. 12, 1959, she was united in marriage to Joe Maurice Epps, a retired Superintendent at the Raccoon Mountain T.V.A. facility in Chattanooga. Mr. Epps was a native of Waverly in Humphreys County and he preceded her in death on Jan. 9, 2004, at the age of 68, following just over 44 years of marriage. The Epps family relocated to Smith County in 1993 following Mr. Epps 1992 retirement from T.V.A. Mrs. Epps was a 1951 graduate of Sevier County High School and a member of the Carthage Church of Christ. A devoted mother and wife, she especially loved the Christmas season and decorating her home for the holidays and particularly enjoyed her involvement in the Red Hat Society. Her only survivors are her son, Joe Epps of the Lock Seven community; and a sister, Sib McCarter, of Sevierville. The family requests memorials to the Alzheimers Association. He minister, Edward L. Anderson will officiate at the 1 p.m. CDT funeral services which will be conducted today, July 27, from the Carthage Chapel of Sanderson Funeral Home. Burial will follow in Smith County Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends after 11 a.m. CDT today until the service.