Tennessee, U.S., Delayed Birth Records, 1869-1909
James Cecil Bowen
Services for Mr. James Cecil Bowen, 54, of Murfreesboro, who died Thursday morning at his home of a sudden illness are scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m. at Blakemore Funeral Home in Shelbyville, followed by burial at Mt. Ararat Annex cemetery, with the Rev. Gene Lawson officiating.
Mr. Bowen was a native of Deason, and was the son of Charlie and Pearl Burns-Bowen of Bell Buckle. He is survived by his parents and by four sons, including Robert Bowen and Edward Bowen, both of Nashville, and Troy Cross Bowen and Ray Verge Bowen, both of Murfreesboro; by three daughters, Nanette Lawson of Nashville, and Catrina L. Bowen and Special S. Bowen, both of Murfreesboro; three sisters, Annie Marie Gatica and Nancy Lean Lyons of Shelbyville, and Bobbie Jean Wells of Bell Buckle; a brother, George Earl Bowen of Bell Buckle; and nine grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a son Clifton Bernard.
Mr. Bowen was retired from MTSU, where he worked as a custodian before becoming disabled. He was educated in the Bedford County School system. He was the former husband of Rachele Henderson Bowen, the fiance of Dorothy Cross of Murfreesboro, and devoted nephew of Lizza Yeargan of Murfreesboro.
Blakemore Funeral Home, 824 Lipscomb St. in Shelbyville, is in charge of arrangements.
Robbie A. Gaither
Services for Robbie A. Gaither, 58, of Wallace Street, Woodbury, who died Sunday, March 29, at Middle Tennessee Medical Center after an extended illness, are set for 2 p.m. Wednesday at Woodbury Funeral Home chapel with burial in Riverside cemetery. Alfred Sharp will officiate.
A native of Smyrna, her parents were the late Irvin and Emma Victory Neely.
She is survived by her husband, Sam William Gaither of Woodbury; two sons, Donny Gaither of Woodbury, Danny Gaither of Auburntown; daughter, Donna Fuqua of Woodbury; two brothers, Erwin "Rabbit" Neely of Woodbury, Sammy Neely of Nashville; five sisters, Shirley Montgomery, Dorothy Simpkins, Julie Williams, Sandra Patton, Sherry Nunly; seven grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
A member of Woodbury Jehovah Witness, she was a homemaker.
Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Woodbury Funeral Home.
March 30, 1998
Laura Ellen Enoch
Services for Laura Ellen Enoch, 91, Murfreesboro, who died Saturday, March 28, at Community Care of Rutherford County, are set for 2 p.m. Tuesday at Partlow Funeral Chapel, Lebanon, with burial in Brush Creek cemetery, Bush Creek. Glenn Grisham will officiate.
Her parents were the late Marler Barrett and Fannie Guess Barrett, and her husband was Turner Enoch, who died in 1975.
She is survived by a daughter, Beulah Hale of Murfreesboro; four sisters, Edna Ervin, Jannie Blackburn, both of Lebanon, Rodie Burton, and Etta Burton.
A member of the Church of Christ, she was a homemaker.
Visitation will be held from 4-9 p.m. today and from 10 a.m. until service time Tuesday at Partlow Funeral Chapel.
March 30, 1998
Mollie Trimble
Funeral arrangements for Mrs. Mollie Trimble, 80, Nashville, who died Saturday, March 28, at Meharry Medical Hospital, Nashville, are incomplete and will be announced later by Scales & Sons Funeral Home.
March 30, 1998
Mathew Artist Garner
Funeral arrangements for Mathew Artist Garner, 78, Murfreesboro, who died at home Saturday March 28, are incomplete and will be announced later by Scales & Sons Funeral Home.
March 30, 1998
Wash Batey
Funeral arrangements for Wash Batey, Detroit, Mich., formerly of Murfreesboro, who died Friday, March 27, in Detroit, are incomplete and will be announced later by Scales & Sons Funeral Home.
Matthew Garner
Services for Matthew Garner, 76, Murfreesboro, who died at home Saturday, March 28, are set for noon Thursday at Scales & Sons Funeral Home with burial in Mt. Pleasant cemetery. The Rev. Leland Webster will officiate.
He is survived by his wife, Margaret Garner; stepdaughter, Katherine Dowell; sister, Lula Waller of Oakland, Calif.; and four stepgrandchildren.
Visitation will be held 11 a.m. Thursday at Scales & Sons Funeral Home.
March 31, 1998
Wash Batey
Services for Wash Batey, Detroit, Mich., formerly of Murfreesboro, who died in Detroit Friday, March 27, are set for 11 a.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church here with burial in Evergreen cemetery. The Rev. Richard Gordon will officiate.
He is survived by his wife, Jeanette Batey; three daughters, Eleanor McSpadden, Francine Seaton, Verneda Carr, son, Rodney Wilson; four grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be held 10 a.m. Saturday at the church.
The remains are at Scales & Sons Funeral Home.
March 31, 1998
John Fitzgerald Bess
John Fitzgerald Bess, 35, Woods Green Road, died Saturday, March 18, at Vanderbilt Hospital, Nashville.
He is survived by his mother, Anna Cahill of Murfreesboro; father, Roy Bess of Destin, Fla.; step father, Richard Cahill of Murfreesboro; stepmother, Betty Bess of Destin; two brothers, James Bess, Michael Bess, both of Destin; three stepbrothers; and two stepsisters.
Woodfin Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
March 31, 1998
Gene Shipley
Services for Gene Shipley, 52, Murfreesboro, who died Monday, March 30, at Middle Tennessee Medical Center, are set for 2 p.m. Wednesday at Woodfin Memorial Chapel with burial in Roselawn Memorial Gardens. The Rev. Tony Hutson will officiate.
His parents were the late Carl and Esther Jones Shipley.
He is survived by his wife, Judy Haynes Shipley; two daughters, Kimberly Shipley of Atlanta, Ga., Juli Shipley of Murfreesboro; stepson, Glenn Henderson of Murfreesboro; two brothers, Spencer Shipley of Smyrna, Michael Shipley of Murfreesboro; six sisters, Peggy Gandera, Cathy Hall, Mary Jane Baxter, Janice Boisseau, all of Murfreesboro, Linda Shipley, Brenda Cryer, both of Smyrna; and two grandchildren.
A Vietnam War veteran, he was a salesman with Signmasters.
Visitation will be held after 4 p.m. today at Woodfin Memorial Chapel.
Fred Travis
NASHVILLE -- Fred Travis, a statewide-known journalist/columnist whose career was born in Murfreesboro, has died.
The 80-year-old native of Murfreesboro and former reporter for The Daily News Journal died Monday of Alzheimer's disease in Hermitage's McKendree Village.
Travis began his writing career at age 18 in Murfreesboro with The DNJ and later worked for the Rutherford Courier where he became a full-time editor in 1938.
Travis left for Chattanooga in 1940 when he began working for the Chattanooga Times. In 1946, Travis moved to Nashville where he headed up the Times' Nashville bureau for 34 years until his retirement in 1980.
Former state Rep. John Bragg of Murfreesboro first knew Travis when he was editor and columnist with the then Murfreesboro-based weekly Rutherford Courier, which was owned by Bragg's family. Bragg, who served in the state Legislature from 1964 to 1996, also knew Travis to provide excellent coverage of Tennessee's lawmakers.
"While with the Courier, Fred was a hard-working editor who did a weekly column of summation of national news," recalls Bragg. "Later, I knew him as the chief of the Nashville bureau for the Chattanooga Times. He was a good newspaperman, a fair man and a good detailed researcher of his facts. He later wrote a column that he sold to Tennessee newspapers from Capitol Hill. He was a real professional."
In 1980, Travis and his wife, Bernice, began Newstenn Inc., a column service for Tennessee newspapers that they continued until 1996.
As dean of the Capitol Hill press corps for many years, Travis helped found the Middle Tennessee Chapter of Sigma Delta Chi, now the Society of Professional Journalists, based in Nashville.
He retired in 1977 as a lieutenant colonel with the Tennessee National Guard, and he served as a news correspondent with the U.S. Marines before serving with the state Guard, said a relative.
In addition to his wife of 51 years, Travis is survived by two sisters, Elizabeth Gwaltney of Murfreesboro and Louise Parker of Nashville; a daughter, Teresa Beitsch, Winter Park, Fla.; a son, Richard Travis of Germantown, and a grandson.
"As a sister, I was always very proud of my brother," said Gwaltney. "He was a very smart man and a dedicated journalist."
Memorial services are scheduled for March 21 at the Calvary United Methodist Church in Nashville at 1 p.m. and for March 22 in the Willard Harris Blue Chapel of McKendree Village Retirement Community.
Travis willed his body for medical research to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, his sister reported.
Douglas Smith
Services for Douglas "Herms" Smith, 38, Murfreesboro, who died at home Sunday, March 8, are set for 7 p.m. Thursday at Green Meadows Church of Christ with burial 10 a.m. Friday in Evergreen cemetery. Chris Whitaker and Ralph E. Thompson will officiate.
He is survived by his wife, Annie L. Smith; daughter, Shauntel Smith; three sons, Marquis Smith, Valarian Smith, and Kareem Smith; parents, Sam and Bertha Smith; two sisters, Doris Davis, Alice Brown; six brothers, Howard Pope, Roy Smith, Mike Smith, Steven Smith, Lewis Smith, and Rodney Smith.
The body will lie in state from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday at Scales & Sons Funeral Home with visitation from 6-7 p.m. Thursday at the church.
March 10, 1998
Mufreesboro, Tenn.
Thomas E. Tenpenny
Services for Thomas Edward Tenpenny, 66, Sulphur Springs Road, who died at home Sunday, March 8, are set for 2 p.m. Wednesday at Woodfin Memorial Chapel with burial in Roselawn Memorial Gardens. The Rev. Dean Sisk will officiate.
A native of Cannon County, his parents were the late Joe and Mattie Bowman Tenpenny.
He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Campbell Tenpenny; daughter, Lydia Tenpenny Oliver of Smyrna; son, Thomas Edward Tenpenny Jr. of Joelton; three brothers, Joe Tenpenny of Knoxville, Wayne Tenpenny of Jackson, Dorris Tenpenny of Woodbury; two sisters, Irene Stone of Florence, Ala., Martha Glandon of Huntsville, Ala.; and four grandchildren.
A member of Belle Aire Baptist Church and a retired educator of Rutherford County schools, he was principal of Central Middle School here for 21 years.
Visitation will be held from 4-9 p.m. today at Woodfin Memorial Chapel.
March 10, 1998
Allie Harwood McCoy
Memorial services for Mrs. Allie Harwood English McCoy, Murfreesboro, who died at home Saturday, March 7, are set for 11 a.m. Thursday at St. Paul's Episcopal Church with the Rev. Gene Wise officiating.
A native of Mt. Pleasant, her parents were the late James Algernon and Ethel Alexander English, and her husband was Clarence Lorrain McCoy, who died in 1967.
She is survived by twin daughters, Margaret Allison McCoy of Rio Linda, Calif., Lorraine Sebree McCoy of St. Louis, Mo.; two brothers, John Thomas English of Lake Quivera, Kan., William Allison English of Nashville; eight grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.
She was a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Daughters of American Revolution, St. Ann's Guild, Murfreesboro Garden Club and Colonial Dames Society of Washington, D.C. She was a former employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She had traveled in Manila, P.I., Stockholm, Sweden, and Kanshaska, South Africa. She was a graduate of George Peabody College, Music Conservatory of Cincinnati, and the Music Conservatory of St. Louis.
Memorials may be made to her church or to the American Cancer Society.
Visitation will be held from 4-6 p.m. Wednesday at Woodfin Memorial Chapel.
Harris E. Farmer
A rosary service for Harris E. Farmer, 75, of Dennard, Ark., who died Thursday, March 18, after an extended illness, is scheduled for today at 7 p.m. at Roller-McNutt Funeral Home in Clinton, Ark. A funeral mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at St. Jude's Catholic Church in Clinton, and burial will follow at the Dennard Community cemetery.
Mr. Farmer is survived by his wife, Agatha Farmer of Dennard; son Larry Farmer of Murfreesboro; daughter Jerrie Campagna of Spofford, Mass.; stepsons Karl Cates of Midway, Utah, Stanley Park of New Orleans, La., and Steven Park and Donald Park of Springfield, Mo.; stepdaughters Julia Cates of Silver Spring, Md., and Rita Moore of Topeka, Kan.; two sisters, Verma Horsman of North Little Rock, Ark., and Maureen Massery of Conway, Ark.; 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Mr. Farmer was retired from Ft. Roots VA Hospital after 40 years of service, and was a veteran of World War II, having served in the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific Arena.
The family requests donations to St. Jude's Catholic Church Religions Education fund in lieu of flowers.
March 22, 1998
Charles K. Hawkins
Services for Charles K. Hawkins, 84, of Windsor Drive, who died Friday, March 20 at Middle Tennessee Medical Center of heart failure, are scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at Woodfin Memorial Chapel with Herbert E. Alsup officiating. Burial will follow in Riverside cemetery in Woodbury.
Mr. Hawkins was a native of Cannon County and was the son of the late Shelah and Hattie Stephens Hawkins.
He is survived by his wife, Pauline Owen Hawkins; son Charles Owen Hawkins of Nashville; and a grandson, Charles David Hawkins of Nashville.
Mr. Hawkins was a member of Woodbury Church of Christ. He was a graduate of Woodbury High School and attended MTSU. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in Italy for three years before returning to Murfreesboro.
He was also senior vice president of Murfreesboro Bank & Trust Co. before his retirement in 1974, and opened and managed the bank's branch office at Sewart Air Force Base in 1950, and served as manager until the base closed.
Mr. Hawkins was also an avid Tennessee Walking Horse fan, and was the owner of flat foot walking horse Mary Wilson.
Visitation with the family will be 3-6 p.m. today at Woodfin Memorial Chapel.
