News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Here are the latest obituaries and notices as provided by the funeral homes serving Cookeville, Baxter, Monterey, Sparta, Gainesboro and Livingston.
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Obituaries For Thursday, July 8
Funeral services for Anna Jewell Sherrell, age 87 of Baxter, will be held on Friday July 9 at 11:00am from the chapel of Whitson Funeral Home. Officiating at the services will be Bro. Herb Leftwich. The burial will follow at the Boiling Springs Cemetery. Mrs. Sherrell passed away on July 6 at the Life Care Center of Sparta. She was a home maker and a member of the Boiling Springs Baptist Church. She is survived by her husband, Lloyd Sherrill; and son, Kenny Sherrill. The family will receive friends at the Funeral Home on Thursday from 5:00pm to 8:00pm and on Friday from 10:00am until the time of services at 11:00am.
Funeral services for Joe Milton Swoape, age 76 of Doyle, will be held at 11:00 am Friday, July 9 at the East Sparta Church of God with burial in the Doyle Cemetery with Full Military Honors. Mr. Swoape passed away Sunday, July 4 at the Woodbury Nursing Center. Mr. Swoape served in the U.S. Army for 23 years and then worked with Middle Tennessee Gas until retirement. He is survived by two sons, Clifford (Katherine) Milton Swoape, and Sheldon (Sally) Wayne Swoape. The Family will receive friends from 5pm until 8 pm on Thursday Evening and again from 9 am until Service time on Friday.
Funeral services for Howard Clifton “Fat Daddy” Vaughn, 86 of Cookeville, will be held at 12:00 PM on Friday, July 9, 2021, at Presley Funeral Home located at 695 Buffalo Valley Road Cookeville, Tennessee 38501 with the Bro. Keith Tosh officiating. Interment will be in Algood City Cemetery, Algood, TN. He passed away on Sunday, July 4, 2021, at Cookeville Regional Medical Center in Cookeville. Born Monday, March 18, 1935 in Overton County, Tennessee, he was the son of the late Hassell Vaughn and the late Zeffie Winningham Vaughn. He served his country in the U.S. Navy onboard the USS Manchester (CL-83). Fat Daddy enjoyed buying birdhouses and watching birds (any birds) arrive on his numerous feeders. He enjoyed the outdoors, just riding around the countryside, especially with his granddaughter, Brooklyn and her friends. He liked to go out to eat and being at the beaches. Mainly, Fat Daddy loved the Lord, and being with his family and friends. The family will receive friends from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Thursday, July 8, 2021.
Funeral services for Mrs. Judy C. Butler, age 76 of Cookeville, will be held Friday, July 9th at 1:00 p.m. at the Cookeville chapel of Hooper-Huddleston & Horner Funeral Home. Interment will follow in Cookeville City Cemetery. Rev. Maston Jackson will officiate. Mrs. Butler died Sunday July 4, 2021 at her residence. She was born October 26, 1944 in Cookeville to the late Elzyie Bennett and Elizabeth Sparks Bennett. She was a 1962 graduate of Cookeville Central High School. Judy worked at Russell Stover Candies for 27 years in payroll, accounting, and production coordinator. To know Judy was to love her. She was a dependable friend to many. She had a God-given ability to make people feel special and a part of her family. She was an avid historian and reader and was faithful in daily Bible reading and devotions. She was a member of Hampton’s Crossroads Baptist Church and formerly attended Caney Fork Baptist Church. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 46 years, Melvin Lee Butler, Jr. She is survived by daughter, Teraceia Tayse, of Cookeville; son, Mark L. Butler, of Franklin, TN; brother, Herb and wife Linda Bennett, of Carrollton, GA; brothers and sisters in law, Wallace and Clydean Butler, Connie and Jerry Cass, Monease and Donnell Chaffin and Johnny and Sherry Butler. Memorial contributions are suggested to be made to Hampton’s Crossroads Baptist Church, 109 Stallion Road, Cookeville, Tennessee 38506 and/or to Tennessee Baptist Children’s Homes, P.O. Box 2206, Brentwood, TN 37024. Her family will receive friends Thursday from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. and again Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.at the funeral home.
Funeral Services for Anthony Tony Crabtree, age 62 of White County, will be held on Friday, July 9 at 2:00 P.M. at Thurman Funeral Home. Interment at Eastland Cemetery. Mr. Crabtree passed away on Tuesday, July 6 in Cookeville. He was born to the late Sammie and Irene Crabtree on April 29, 1959, in White Co., TN. He is survived by his wife, Sandra Crabtree. Family will receive friends on Friday, July 9 at 12:00 P.M. till 2:00 P.M. at Thurman Funeral Home.
Funeral Services for Joanne Carter Luna, age 83 of Sparta, will be held at 2:00 pm on Friday, July 9 in the chapel of Hunter Funeral Home with burial in the Plainview Cemetery in Cassville. Mrs. Luna passed away Monday, July 5 at the Cookeville Regional Medical Center. She was a long time employee of the Good Form Hanger Factory, worked several years at Mallory Timers, and along with her husband, owned and operated the Sligo Boat Dock. She was a very adventurous lady and loved wholeheartedly. She is survived by her brother, Tommy Carter, and several grand children and great-grandchildren. The family will receive friends from 11:00 am Friday until service time.
Funeral Services for Betty Jean Simmons, age 87 of Quebeck, will be held at 11:00 am Saturday, July 10, 2021 in the Chapel of Hunter Funeral Home with burial in the Jericho Cemetery. Miss Simmons passed away on Wednesday morning July 7 at her residence. Betty was a long time member of the Quebeck Church of Christ. She was a office clerk with Spartans and Suttons Shirt Factory for many years. She is survived by her son, Michael (Pamela) Simmons of Sparta. The family will receive friends from 9:00 am Saturday until Service time.
Funeral Services for Wilma Jean Presley, age 71 of Cookeville, will be held on Saturday, July 10 at 1:00 P.M. at Hensley Chapel. Interment will be at Young Cemetery. Officiating will be Bro. Rudy Oaks. Miss Presley passed away on Tuesday July 6 in Cookeville. Wilma was born July 7, 1949, in Sparta to the late Thurman and Ruby Conley. She is survived by her daughters, Patricia Oliver (Kevin Blackham), Tammy Howard, Lisa Presley, Kenneth and Barbra Randolph. Family will receive friends on Friday, July 9 at 5:00 P.M. till 8:00 P.M. at Hensley Chapel.
Memorial services for James Harold Smith, 78 of Sparta, will be held on July 10 at 1 PM at Oak Lawn Funeral Home. Mr. Smith passed away Monday, June 21 in Cookeville. Survivors include his daughters, Jammi Wilson (Scotty) of Sparta, Kris Smith (Gary) of Sparta, Tamera Taylor (Toby) of Sparta, and Amy Jo Brown. In lieu of flowers, the family request that memorial donations be made to The SkyAnn Wilson Memorial Fund, c/o Oak Lawn Funeral Home. The family will receive friends from 11 AM – till the time of the service at the funeral home.
Graveside services for Evelyn Ruth Perkins, age 69, of Sparta, will be held on Saturday July 10, 2021, at 2:00pm at the Alex Byers Cemetery. Officiating will be Bro. Lester England. Evelyn Ruth Perkins was born on December 13, 1951, in Dayton, Ohio, to the late Talmadge Brown and Nannie Lee. She passed away on July 4, 2021, at her residence in Sparta. She was a home maker. She is survived by 1 son and daughter in law, Ronnie (Judy) Brown; 3 daughters, Angie Blankenship, Dawn Dye, and Amy Auchi. The family will be receiving friends at the cemetery on Saturday from 1:00pm until the time of services at 2:00pm.
Graveside Funeral Services For Mary Ellen Sellars, Age 87 Of Monterey, Will Be Conducted On Monday, July 12 At 10:00 AM At The Welch Memorial Cemetery. Bro. Ronnie Tallent Will Officiate With Interment To Follow. Mrs. Sellars Passed Away On Wednesday, June 30 At Hospice Of Dayton. Mrs. Sellars Was A Homemaker. She Is Survived By two Sons, James (Sue) Sellars, and Mike Sellars (Tonya Swisher). The Family Will Receive Friends At Welch Memorial Cemetery For Graveside Services.
A memorial service for Howard Lee Jessie, age 74 of Mt. Pleasant, SC, formerly of Cookeville, will be held July 17 at 11:00 AM at Cunningham Memorial Park Mausoleum in St. Albans, West Virginia. Mr. Jessie passed away on June 8, 2021. Howard was a former resident of Belle and Charleston, WV. He also lived in Boynton Beach, FL, Irmo, SC, and Cookeville, TN. Howard proudly served in the United States Air Force from November 1963 until November 1967. He also served in the West Virginia Air National Guard. He retired from DuPont Belle Plant in 2001. He was a long-time member of Boulevard Church of Christ in Charleston, WV and Stevens Street Baptist Church in Cookeville, TN. He will be sadly missed by his family and by his many friends from West Virginia, Tennessee, Florida, and South Carolina but has been joyfully welcomed into Heaven. Howard is survived by his wife, Virginia A. Jessie, Mt. Pleasant, SC, his daughter and her husband, Brett and Missy Wilson of Mt. Pleasant, SC, his son and his wife, Michael and Holley Townsend, of Lakeland, FL, his sons, Victor and Brian Honaker of Charleston, WV. In lieu of flowers donations to the Stevens Street Baptist Church, 327 W. Stevens Street, Cookeville, TN 38501 are suggested. Per his wishes, Howard has been cremated and his ashes will be returned to West Virginia.
Memorial services for James (Jim) Francis Deffley, Jr., 69, of Cookeville, will be held on Saturday, July 24 at 1 P.M. at Anderson Upper Cumberland Funeral Home. The family has chosen cremation. Mr. Deffley passed away on Tuesday, July 6 at his residence. He was born January 15, 1952, in Woonsocket, RI, to the late James Francis Deffley, Sr. and Mary Catherine Dolan Deffley. On August 26, 1979, he was married to Carol J. Deffley, who survives. He worked as a purchasing manager. Survivor include his wife, Carol J. Deffley of Cookeville; and daughters, Christina (Edward) A. Laquerre, and Jami (Edward) Barnsley. Memorial donations may be made to the American Red Cross by contacting the funeral home. The family will receive friends on Saturday, July 24 from 11 A.M. until time of services.
