Tennessee, U.S., Delayed Birth Records, 1869-1909
John W. Wells
John Winston Wells, who retired from the U.S. Air Force as a master sergeant, died Monday, Jan. 11, 1999, in a local hospital. He was 67.
Mr. Wells was a resident of Hixson and a native of Harvest, Ala. He had lived in the Chattanooga area since 1982.
He also served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Mr. Wells, a decorated veteran, served in the Korean conflict and in Vietnam. He was a member of the A.F.S.A., the Retired Military Association and the Lions Club.
Survivors include his wife, Ida E. Wells, Hixson; a brother, Joseph A. Wells, Arizona; and a sister, Virginia Standifer, Chattanooga.
The funeral will be Friday at 11 a.m. at the Dodds Avenue Chapel of Turner Funeral Home with the Rev. Bob Hofstetter and chaplain Larry Wirth officiating.
Burial will be in Chattanooga National cemetery, with full military honors being provided by Robins Air Force Base.
The family will receive friends today and Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home.
John Herman Adams
John Herman Adams, retired after 20 years from Cavalier Corp., died Wednesday, Feb. 10, 1999, at his Red Bank home. He was 82.
Mr. Adams was a lifelong resident of the Chattanooga area and a U.S. Army veteran of World War II. He was a member of Calvary Baptist Church, where he served as an usher and was the leader of the Sunday Night Men's Prayer Group.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Elah Plumblee Adams.
Survivors include four sons, Jim, Jerry, Ronnie and Terry Adams; a sister, Bettye Newsom; and a brother, Harry Adams, all of Chattanooga; seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
The funeral will be Friday at 3 p.m. at the Coulter Chapel of Lane Funeral Home with the Rev. Kelton Williams officiating.
Burial will be in Chattanooga Memorial Park.
The family will receive friends today after 2 p.m. and Friday from 11 a.m. until the service at the funeral home.
Joe Hobbs, 80
Joe H. Hobbs, who retired in 1982 from Provident Life & Accident Insurance Co., died Tuesday, April 27, 1999, in a local hospital. He was 80.
Mr. Hobbs was a member of the Church of Christ of Lookout Valley. He was a veteran of World War II, having served in the Army Air Corps and having flown 61 missions and 216 hours. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart.
Survivors include his wife, Evelyn S. Hobbs; two stepsons, Gary Brown, Chattanooga, and Chuck Brown, Birmingham, Ala.; three sisters, Alda Gibson, Langley, Ky., Tula Turner, Allen, Ky., and Lois Gault, Chattanooga; three grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews.
The funeral will be Thursday at 1 p.m. at Chattanooga Funeral Home, East, with ministers John Cupp and Jeff Brown officiating.
Burial will be in Lakewood Memory Gardens, West.
The family will receive friends today from 4 to 9 p.m. at the funeral home.
Jesse Reid Lassetter, 63
ROSSVILLE - Jesse Reid Lassetter, retired after 28 years with Western Electric, died Tuesday, May 25, 1999, in an Alabama hospital. He was 63.
Mr. Lassetter, a lifelong resident of Rossville, was a graduate of Rossville High School and attended the University of Chattanooga. He was an Air Force veteran.
He was a private pilot and the owner of several planes. He had traveled extensively throughout the United States.
He was a member and past president of the local Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 150 and a charter member and director of the Tennessee-Alabama-Georgia (TAG) Engine Club.
Mr. Lassetter was a son of the late Jesse Madison Lassetter and Perrenie Norwood Lassetter and the brother of the late Etherage L. Lassetter.
Survivors include his wife, Margaret 'Margie' Hollingsworth Lassetter, Rossville; two daughters, Jessica 'Amei' Luffman, Los Angeles, and Mardi L. Mason, Marietta, Ga.; a son, Russell B. Lassetter, Marietta; two sisters, Elwanda L. Poteet, Ringgold, Ga., and Virginia L. Clayton, East Ridge; and several nieces and nephews.
The funeral will be Saturday at 10 a.m. at W.L. Wilson & Sons Funeral Home with the Rev. Tom Seay officiating.
Burial will be in Tennessee-Georgia Memorial Park.
The family will receive friends today after 11 a.m. at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Chattanooga Nature Center, 400 Garden Road, Chattanooga, TN 37419.
Jerry Bell, 69
The funeral for Jerry Lee Bell will be today at 11:30 a.m. at Chattanooga Funeral Home, East, with the Rev. Vernon Windom officiating.
Burial will be in Chattanooga National cemetery.
Mr. Bell, owner and operator of Jerry Bell Construction for 33 years, died Sunday, Jan. 31, 1999, in a local hospital. He was 69.
He was a Korean War veteran, having served in the U.S. Air Force, and was a member of Wildwood United Methodist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Doris Bell; a daughter, Jennifer Bell, Wildwood; two sons, Michael Bell, Wildwood, and Patrick Bell, Trenton, Ga.; and six grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Bethel Bible Village, 3001 Hamill Road, Hixson, TN 37373.
Jeanne R. Allison
Jeanne R. Allison, who was active in cultural and civic organizations in Chattanooga all of her life, died Thursday, Feb. 18, 1999. She was 75.
Mrs. Allison was a resident of Augusta, Ga., and a former Chattanoogan.
She was a member of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Augusta and was retired as house director from the University of Alabama. She was a member of the Junior League and the Altar Guilds of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Episcopal, on Lookout Mountain.
She was the widow of Joseph H. Allison III.
Survivors include a son, Felix G. Miller III, Chattanooga; two daughters, Patricia Miller Mathis, Augusta, and Lynn Miller Sloan, Oxford, Miss.; a sister, Barbara Reese Thompson, Novato, Calif.; two stepdaughters, Mamie A. Levi and Sandra A. Miller, both of Lookout Mountain; 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Church of the Good Shepherd, with the Rev. Perry Scruggs officiating.
Burial will be in the Harriett Caldwell Memorial Garden.
Jeanette Jackson Mosley, 95
Jeanette Jackson Mosley, historian for Hurst United Methodist Church and the first black person to serve on the advisory board of the Northside Neighborhood House, died Wednesday, April 7, 1999, in a local hospital. She was 95.
Mrs. Mosley was a former chairwoman of the Pastor Parish Committee at the church. She was employed at the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club and the Department of Chattanooga Human Resources.
She was a member of the United Methodist Women, the North Chattanooga Community Club, chaplain of the World War I Ladies Auxiliary 3435 and past president and treasurer of the Northside Garden Club.
Mrs. Mosley was preceded in death by her husband, Sam Mosley, four brothers and two sisters.
Survivors include two grandsons and one great-granddaughter.
The funeral will be Monday at noon at Hurst United Methodist Church with the Rev. Donald Daniels officiating.
Burial will be in Chattanooga National cemetery.
The family will receive friends Sunday from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Avondale Chapel of Franklin-Strickland Funeral Home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Hurst United Methodist Church building fund, 829 Dallas Road, Chattanooga, TN 37405.
Jan Pennington Gray, 28
Jan Pennington Gray, a professional harpist since age 11, died Thursday, March 4, 1999, in a local hospital after a long illness. She was 28.
Mrs. Gray began her harp training at age 10. In four years as a member of the Young Singers of Callenwolde, an award-winning youth choral group, she toured churches and cathedrals in Canada, Great Britain, Germany and Austria. She also gave harp demonstrations for elementary school classes in the Atlanta area. At 13 she was the featured soloist with the Toccoa Symphony, with whom she performed Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. Later that year, she played for the opening of Atlanta's High Museum of Art.
At 14, she was the harpist for the Atlanta Repertory Opera's production of II Trovatore. She also played for Nancy Reagan's visit to Atlanta's Northside School for the Performing Arts, where she graduated in 1987. At 15 she performed with the Georgia All State Orchestra at the Savannah Civic Center, and played the Saint-Saens Christmas Oratorio at Briarcliff Baptist Church.
In her 17th year, she played the DuBois Seven Last Words with the Gainesville Methodist Church choir and orchestra, demonstrated her folk harp made by Robert Cunningham at the Oglethorpe University Celtic Festival, was featured soloist with the Toccoa Symphony at the Georgia Baptist Assembly and began giving harp lessons in Atlanta.
Mrs. Gray attended college at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and worked as an intern for the North Carolina Nature Conservancy. After graduating in 1992 with a bachelor of science in liberal arts degree, she joined her parents in Chattanooga and worked as a horticulture volunteer at the Tennessee Aquarium and a botanist at Reflection Riding.
She appeared on NewsChannel 9's Good Morning Chattanooga show and taught harp lessons at the First Baptist School of Fine Arts. As the 'SuperStrings' business, she played for weddings, receptions, banquets, corporate functions and recitals.
In 1997 she won first place in the Scottish Harp Society of America competition at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, and second place in the National Claarsach Competition in Alexandria, Va. Later that year, she won first place and harper of the day at the Stone Mountain Highland Games in Atlanta. In September of 1997 she joined the WellSpring music program at Chattanooga's Memorial Hospital and played harp for the patients.
Mrs. Gray was selected by the Council of Scottish Clans and Associations as the 1998 recipient of the Ethel K. MacNeal Scholarship for Scottish Harp. She used the grant to attend the Ohio Scottish Arts School at Oberlin in the summer of 1998.
She was the granddaughter of the late James L. and Beulah Pennington of Chattanooga.
Survivors include her husband, Arthur Richard Gray, and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. James W. Pennington of Chattanooga.
The funeral will be Saturday at 2 p.m. at First-Centenary United Methodist Church with the Rev. Stephen Kier, the Rev. Lawrence Clark, the Rev. David Harr and the Rev. Patricia Dover-Bedwell officiating.
Burial will be in Forest Hills cemetery.
The family will receive friends today from 3 to 8 p.m. at the Coulter Chapel of Lane Funeral Home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Jan Pennington Gray Memorial Harp Scholarship Fund, c/o Sun Trust Bank, Northtown Branch at Winn Dixie, 5450 Highway 153, Hixson, TN 37343.
