Tennessee, U.S., Delayed Birth Records, 1869-1909
Ethel Gertrude McDaniel
Mother of Peggy La Grone
Ethel Gertrude Hightower McDaniel of Carthage, Texas, the mother of Peggy La Grone of Oak Ridge, died Thursday, Feb. 10, 2000, in Carthage. Mrs. McDaniel had celebrated her 93rd birthday on Dec. 19, 1999.
Lifelong residents of East Texas, she and her husband, the late Herman Victor McDaniel, enjoyed 62 years of marriage before his death in 1988.
They farmed, ranched and owned a country grocery store for 27 years in Panola County, Texas, before retiring in Carthage.
"Miss Gertie," as she was affectionately known, was an avid 42 player and Scrabble enthusiast, and until her death regularly attended the weekly Carthage Country Music Hayride.
She was one of 13 children born to Allen and Sallie Thomas Hightower, both now deceased.
After the death of her husband, Mrs. McDaniel spent numerous extended vacations in Oak Ridge with her daughter and son-in-law, Joe La Grone.
In addition to her local daughter and son-in-law, Mrs. McDaniel is survived by another daughter, Patsy Mills and her husband, John R. Mills, of Carthage; two sisters, Tula Biggs of Carthage and Pauline Cathey of Bixby, Okla.; and her grandchildren, Dana La Grone Davis of Oak Ridge, Jeffrey La Grone of Boston, Mass., Paige La Grone of Seattle Wash., Steve McDaniel of Sand Spring, Okla., Peter McDaniel of Camp LeJeune, N.C., William McDaniel of Taylor, S.C., Melanie Maley of Sarasota, Calif., Paul Darrell McDaniel of Minneapolis, Minn., and Martin McDaniel and Jonathan and Jan Mills, all of Carthage.
She is also survived by 12 great-grandchildren, including Autumn Davis of Oak Ridge, and scores of nieces and nephews.
Two sons, Billy E. McDaniel and G. Darrell McDaniel, and a grandson, Lionel McDaniel, died earlier.
The funeral was held Sunday, Feb. 13, at Hawthorn Funeral Home in Carthage, and burial was at the nearby community of Antioch. Mrs. McDaniel's son-in-law John R. Mills and her nephew Steven McDaniel, both ministers, officiated.
The family requests that any memorials be in the form of donations to Clinch River Home Health, P.O. Box 56, Clinton, TN 37716; or to Keystone Elder Care at First United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 4669, Oak Ridge, TN 37830.
Leah Gene Wilson
Oak Ridge resident
Leah Gene Wilson, 76, of Oak Ridge, died Thursday, Feb. 17, 2000, at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge.
Mrs. Wilson was a homemaker and enjoyed sewing and handicrafts, her family said.
She was born on Nov. 3, 1923, in Kalamazoo, Mich., the daughter of Reynold G. Tinetti and Eleanor Koch Tinetti.
Mrs. Wilson is survived by her husband of 52 years, Thomas Blanton Wilson; two daughters, Lew Bailey and her husband, Glen, of Olive Branch, Miss., and Cathy Wade of Oak Ridge; her sister, Patricia Horn of Scottsdale, Ariz.; and three grandchildren, Kevin Bailey and his wife, Tracy, of Dallas, Texas, Scott Bailey of Olive Branch and Samuel Wade of Oak Ridge.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20, in the chapel of Weatherford Mortuary
Family members will have a private burial service at Oak Ridge Memorial Park.
The family will receive friends from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday at the mortuary.
Betty G. Walker
Wife of Dick Walker
Betty Jane Glover Walker died of cancer early this morning, Feb. 17, 1999, at her home along Watts Bar Lake, south of Kingston. She was 65.
Mrs. Walker was the wife of Richard Thomas "Dick" Walker, who survives her. He recently retired as a partner with Adams Craft Herz Walker of Oak Ridge.
Born on April 17, 1933, in Atoka, north of Memphis in Tipton County, she was the daughter of Donald and Ruby Glover, both now deceased. A graduate of Bartlett High School in Memphis, she attended Columbia Community College in Columbia.
The Walkers were married not long after Mrs. Walker graduated from high school, and during the time her husband was a student at the University of Tennessee, she worked as secretary to the executive vice president and general manager of Robertshaw-Fulton Controls Co. of Knoxville.
From January to June 1960, she was secretary to the legal vice president of McDonnell Aircraft Corp. in St. Louis, Mo. She was secretary to the president of United Cities Gas Co. in Nashville from 1970 through 1973, when she and her family returned to this area.
Mrs. Walker was a Presbyterian and had served as an elder for her church in Knoxville. Reading and playing golf and bridge were among her main interests.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by her daughter, Linda Kennedy of Crossville; her son, Thomas Guy Walker of Florida City, Fla.; her brother, Donald Paul Glover of Memphis; her aunt, Vera Jackson of Memphis; and four grandchildren.
Forest Hills Funeral Home East, 2440 Whitten Road, Memphis, TN 38133, is in charge of arrangements, which were incomplete this morning.
Robert Ray Hart
Oliver Springs resident
Robert Ray Hart, 74, of Oliver Springs, died Tuesday, Feb. 16, 1999, at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge.
Mr. Hart is survived by three daughters, Carolyn Hart and Barbara Williams and her husband, John, all of California, and Bobbie Jo Mathis and her husband, Fred, of Oak Ridge; two sisters, Margaret Boswell and Judy Hart, both of Oliver Springs; and two brothers, Jack Hart of Knoxville and Paul Hart of Dalton, Ga.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, in the chapel of Oliver Springs Mortuary, 717 Main St., Oliver Springs. The Rev. Garvan Walls will officiate.
Selden Robert 'Bob' Bernard
World War II vet, retired health physicist
Selden Robert "Bob" Bernard, 77, of Oak Ridge, died Sunday, Feb. 16, 2003, at NHC HealthCare of Oak Ridge.
Born Nov. 10, 1925, in Scobey, Mont., he was the son of W.H. and Goldie Luther Bernard, who are deceased.
Mr. Bernard was employed by Union Carbide Nuclear Division and later, Martin Marietta Energy Systems, as a health physicist and director of the Information Center. He retired in 1985 after 37 years of service. He served in World War II in the Army Air Corps.
He was a member of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, the Health Physics Society, the Society for Mathematical Biology, the Oak Ridge Toastmasters Club and the Elks Lodge.
He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline J. Bernard; son, Selden R. Bernard II; daughters, Susan Ziegler and Lee McKevitt; and grandchildren, Courtney Bernard, Matthew Bernard, Michael Barlow, Jamie White, Aaron Ziegler, Alex Lockard, Nicholas Lockard, Philip Schroeder, Kevin Schroeder and Ryan Schroeder.
A memorial service will be conducted at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19, at the Unitarian Universalist Church. The family will receive friends following the service.
The family requests that memorials be in the form of donations to the National Alliance for Mentally Ill of Tennessee, 5410 Homberg Drive, Suite 4, Knoxville, TN 37919; or NAMI, 142 Kentucky Ave., Oak Ridge, TN 37830.
Martin Oak Ridge Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
James Ronald Gray
Retired K-25 employee
James Ronald Gray, 78, of Oak Ridge, died of prostate cancer on Friday, Feb. 16, 2001, at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge.
Mr. Gray was born in Sylvania, Ala., the son of Clifford and Blanche Gray, who are deceased. He was a veteran of World War II. He attended the University of Alabama for two years before enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Force, and he flew 33 missions over Germany with the 384th Bomb Group, Eighth Air Force.
He later graduated from the University of Alabama with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering.
Mr. Gray began employment in Oak Ridge with Union Carbide Nuclear Division as a project engineer at the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant. He retired from Martin Marietta Energy Systems in 1985 after 34 years of service at K-25.
A professional electrical engineer, Mr. Gray was a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. He was a former member of the administrative board of First United Methodist Church. His hobbies included raising orchids, winemaking, woodworking, gardening, boating on Watts Bar Lake, investment research and guitar and organ music.
Mr. Gray and his wife, Catherine, who survives him, recently celebrated 50 years of marriage.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by four children, Cathy Kortman and her husband, Peter, and Pat Beasley and her fiancé, Steve Newberry, all of Knoxville, Jan Follansbee and her husband, Guy, of Collierville, and Jim Gray and his wife, Tammy, of Nashville; and five grandchildren, Caitlin and Laura Follansbee and Erica, Kelson and Bretton Gray.
Mr. Gray is also survived by his brothers-in-law, Ralph Burns and his wife, Carolyn, of Huntsville, Ala., and Steve Cobb and his wife, Frances, of Bloomfield, Conn.; and by several nieces, nephews and cousins.
The funeral was held Sunday, Feb. 18, at First United Methodist Church. The Rev. Steve Martin officiated.
Burial was at Oak Ridge Memorial Park.
The family requests that any memorials be in the form of donations to First United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 4669, Oak Ridge, TN 37831; or to the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge, 2008 Charlotte Ave., Nashville, TN 37203.
Weatherford Mortuary handled arrangements.
Kenneth Foust
Retired Link-Belt employee
Kenneth Foust, 67, of Clinton, died Friday, Feb. 16, 2001, at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge.
Mr. Foust was born July 17, 1933, in Anderson County, the son of Seber and Sarah Ellen Holder Foust, who are deceased. He was a U.S. Army veteran.
He was retired from Link-Belt Bearing Division in Clinton. He had previously worked for 19 years for Standard Knitting Mills in Clinton.
Mr. Foust was an active member of Piney Grove Baptist Church in Clinton and had served the church as a trustee and deacon. His family said he loved his family and his church and that he also enjoyed woodworking as a hobby and brought happiness to many people with his swings and other crafts.
He is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, Dorothy Lou Heatherly Foust; his daughter, Darlene Hamock and her husband, Mike, of Clinton; his son, Mark Foust and his wife, Tina, of Clinton; and by his grandchildren, Stephanie Richardson and her husband, Alvis, of LaFollette, and Brittany Foust and Jason Hamock and his wife, Christy, all of Clinton.
Mr. Foust is also survived by his sister, Avenell Heatherly and her husband, the Rev. Herbert Heatherly, of New Market; his brother, Dr. Elmer J. Foust and his wife, Elizabeth, of Marietta, Ga.; his sisters-in-law, Pauline Foust of Oak Ridge, and Georgia Fritts, Geraldine Howard and Mable Whitaker and her husband, Claude, all of Lake City; his brother-in-law, Luther Heatherly Jr. of Lake City; and by several nieces and nephews.
In addition to his parents, three other brothers, the Rev. S.E. Foust Jr., Lowell M. Foust and Carl Foust, preceded him in death.
The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20, at Piney Grove Baptist Church with the Rev. Joe Norris and the Rev. Billy Moore officiating. Viewing will be the hour before the service.
Burial will follow at the church cemetery.
The family requests that any memorials be in the form of donations to Piney Grove Baptist Church, c/o Tommy Coleman, 5321 Malachi Circle, Knoxville, TN 37918.
The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 tonight, Feb. 19, at Holley-Gamble Funeral Home in Clinton.
