Tennessee, U.S., Delayed Birth Records, 1869-1909
Virginia Estabrook Custer
Mother of Mimi Kaine
Virginia Estabrook Custer, 80, of Naples, Fla., died Jan. 6, 1999, in Naples.
Mrs. Custer was the mother of Mimi Kaine of Oak Ridge.
She was a graduate of Hofstra University and a former resident of Chestertown, Md.
Her husband, Merton D. Custer, died in 1985.
In addition to her local daughter and son-in-law, Jay W. Kaine, Mrs. Custer is survived by two other daughters, Barbara Ann Custer and Mary Custer, both of Los Angeles, Calif.; her sister, Barbara Estabrook of Washington, D.C.; four grandchildren, Capt. James Kaine, Christopher Kaine, Timothy Kaine and Patrick Kaine; and a great-grandson, Daniel Kaine.
A graveside service was held at St. Paul's Cemetery in Chestertown.
The family requests any memorials be in the form of donations to the American Heart Association.
Fuller Funeral Home in Naples handled arrangements.
Myrtle Rose 'Turtle' Gray
Member of Clinton Second Baptist Church
Myrtle Rose "Turtle" Gray died Friday, Jan. 10, 2003, at Briarcliff Health Care Center in Oak Ridge.
Born in Primroy, Tenn., she was the daughter of Bud and Lucenda Guy Osborne, who are now deceased. She was the widow of Pleasant Olaf Gray.
Mrs. Gray was a member of Second Baptist Church in Clinton. According to her family, she loved cooking and had worked in years past as a cook at Hoskins Drug Store and at the Scottish Inn Restaurant. She was voted waitress of the month by the Clinton Courier while working at Scottish Inn.
She gained her nickname, "Turtle," from her collection of ceramic turtles, which at one time was displayed in the Clinton Public Library. She also enjoyed sewing.
Mrs. Gray is survived by her son, Thomas L. Gray and his wife, Marie, of Clinton; her grandchildren, Thomas L. Gray Jr. of Oak Ridge and Rose Marie DeMarcus and her husband, Jason, of Andersonville; her great-grandchildren, Bradley, Kayla and Cody DeMarcus of Andersonville; her brother, the Rev. John Osborne of Spring Valley, Ohio; and her sister, Arrie Goins of Harlan, Ky.
She considered Helen Bruce of Daytona Beach, Fla., a very special friend from childhood.
In addition to her parents and her husband, she was preceded in death by four other brothers, Roscoe, Clifford, David and Oscar Osborne; and another sister, Maude Kemplin.
The funeral was held Sunday night, Jan. 12, in the chapel of Holley-Gamble Funeral Home in Clinton with the Rev. George Williams officiating.
A graveside service was to be held Monday morning, Jan. 13, at Woodlawn Cemetery in LaFollette.
Evelyn C. Murrin
Member of Robertsville Baptist Church
Evelyn C. Murrin, 82, of Oak Ridge, died Thursday, Jan. 8, 2004, at Briarcliff Health Care Center.
Born June 15, 1921, in New Prospect, S.C., she was the daughter of Walter D. and Alma Simmons Carson.
She was a member of Robertsville Baptist Church and her family said she enjoyed crafts, sewing and cooking. She came to Oak Ridge in 1945 with her husband, Charles A. Ochiltree, now deceased. After her first husband died, she married Willam H. Murrin Sr., now deceased.
In addition to her parents and husbands, she was preceded in death by a brother, William Carson, and by two sisters, Valla Carson and Edna Foster.
Mrs. Murrin is survived by a son, Chuck Ochiltree and wife, Sheila, of Oak Ridge; a stepson, William H. Murrin Jr. and wife, Mary, of Nashville; two grandchildren, Leif Ochiltree and wife, Shannon, and Jennifer Van Hook and husband, Mark, all of Oak Ridge; two stepgrandchildren, Greg Murrin and Aaron Murrin; and by four great-grandchildren, Zoe Van Hook, Christopher Van Hook, Ryan Ochiltree and Evan Ochiltree.
No service is scheduled at this time.
The family requests that any memorials be in the form of contributions to the Second Harvest Food Bank, 922 Delaware Ave., Knoxville, TN 37921.
Martin Oak Ridge Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Barbara Deshona Brice-Brown
Former Oak Ridge resident
Barbara Deshona Brice-Brown, 39, of Upper Marlboro, Md., died Thursday, Jan. 1, 2004, at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md.
Born March 14, 1964, in Oak Ridge, she was the daughter of Ernest Brice Jr. and Barbara Fendrix Brice.
She was a senior trial attorney for Upper Marlboro with the U.S. government.
She was preceded in death by a son, Benjamin Fuller Brown.
In addition to her parents, Mrs. Brice-Brown is survived by her husband, Gregory; a son, Sean; her brother, Ernie Brice, of Upper Marlboro; two sisters, Ebony Brice, of Upper Marlboro, and Tonja Burse and husband, Ronald, of Ocean Springs, Miss.; and by three nephews, Phillip, Nathan and Gabriel, all of Ocean Springs.
She is also survived by two grandmothers, Annie Ruth Coward of Gary, Ind., and Mary Sammons of Chattanooga; a grandfather, Mason Love, of Washington, D.C.; a cousin, Alvin Keith Hunter, of Waldorf, Md.; and by several cousins, aunts, uncles and friends.
The family will receive friends from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, 2004, in the chapel of Oak Ridge Memorial Park. A graveside service will follow.
The family requests that any memorials be in the form of contributions to the Scleroderma Foundation, 12 Kent Way, Suite 101, Byfield, MA 01922.
Martin Oak Ridge Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Richard Knight
Tennessee newspaper publisher
Richard Knight, 76, a Tennessee newspaper publisher and owner for four decades, died Saturday, Jan. 10, 2004, at his home in Oak Ridge.
Mr. Knight and his wife, Louise Blanks Knight, who met and married in Oak Ridge during World War II, owned the Livingston Enterprise for 41 years, from 1959 to 2000.
The couple also owned the Jackson County Sentinel, which they purchased in 1964.
Mr. Knight started his newspaper career at age 9 when he hawked newspapers on the corner in his native Texas. In the 1950s, Mr. Knight started working in the production department of the Cannon Courier, and he went on to work at The Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro and The Tennessean in Nashville. He served four years in the U.S. Navy before buying the Livingston weekly.
Mr. Knight and his wife were married for 59 years. They met in Oak Ridge, where both their families moved to work on the Manhattan Project during World War II. His wife worked for Tennessee Eastman, and Mr. Knight worked for Roane-Anderson Co.
The couple married in October 1944, after eloping to Georgia and spending "our honeymoon on a Greyhound," his wife said.
They returned to Oak Ridge in 2000.
Mr. Knight was diagnosed with cancer in the spring of 2002. He was a member of the Church of Christ.
He was active in the Tennessee Press Association for the span of his newspaper career, and he served as president of the state newspaper group from 1981 to 1982. He served on the TPA board of directors and was honored for his 11 years of service, from 1973 to 1983, and also served on the Tennessee Press Service board of directors.
According to his family, Mr. Knight was particularly proud of the statewide awards his paper won for Public Service in 1987, as an advocate for schools in Overton County, and for the Best Single Editorial in 1987. The paper also won statewide awards for advertising campaign in 1969 and best single advertisement in 1981 and 1985.
He was honored twice by the Tennessee School Boards Association with the School Bell award.
He was honored for his support of conservation, including the Heath Cooper Rigdon Conservation Writing Award in 1977 and the Conservation Promotion Award from the Tennessee Association of County Conservation Districts in 1982.
His family said he was active in his community in a variety of fields from support for 4-H programs to planning and zoning.
Mr. Knight helped develop and create the first industrial park in Overton County, was a staunch advocate for new school facilities, served as the local Red Cross contact for decades and campaigned for the county's first nursing home in the early 1960s with an exposé of existing facilities.
He served as a member of Livingston's planning commission and board of zoning appeals for nearly four decades, including serving as the planning commission chairman.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Knight is survived two daughters, Carolyn Swindle and her husband, David, of Leesburg, Va., formerly of Oak Ridge, and Ann Lindsay and husband, John, of Midlothian, Va.; four grandchildren, Jeff Lindsay and wife, Cathy, of Midlothian, Rebecca Lindsay of Pennsylvania, Mary Louise and Steve Nicklas, and Caroline Swindle, all of Fairfax, Va.; and by two great-grandchildren, Amanda Lindsay and Jessica Lindsay, both of Midlothian.
The funeral will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2004, at Martin Oak Ridge Funeral Home.
The family requests that any memorials be in the form of contributions to the American Cancer Society, 871 North Weisgarber Road, Knoxville, TN 37909.
The family will receive friends from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.
Eli Byrge
Has area relatives
Eli Byrge, 100, of Devonia, died Thursday, Jan. 8, 2004, at his home.
Born July 9, 1903, in Devonia, he was the son of Henry and Sally Ann Tackett Byrge.
Mr. Byrge was retired from the Tennessee Railroad. He was a member of Free Communion Baptist Church.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Willie Marie Reynolds Byrge, and by two brothers and three sisters.
Mr. Byrge is survived by three sons, Cordis Gilbert Byrge of Devonia, Johnny Byrge and wife, Eva, of Oliver Springs, and Curtis Byrge of Oak Ridge; and by two daughters, Julie Byrge and Mary Daugherty, both of Devonia.
He is also survived by seven grandchildren, George Randy Daugherty, Andy Duane Daugherty, Rhonda Marie Byrge and husband, Ellis, Peter Anthony Daugherty, Patton Lee Daugherty and wife, Brandi, Amy C. Reagan and husband, J.D., and Danny Byrge and wife, Gretchen; nine great-grandchildren, Tina Luckman, Cynthia LeAnn Daugherty, Chris Luckman, Adrianna Leigh Daugherty, Bryanna Renae Daugherty, Brandon Byrge, Jonathan Byrge, Madison Rose Byrge and Rebecca Marie Byrge; a special friend, Georgia Ann Phillips; a good friend, Maggie Lee Phillips; and by several other close friends.
The funeral was Sunday, Jan. 11, 2004, at Free Communion Baptist Church in Devonia with the Rev. Don Daugherty and the Rev. Otis Phillips officiating.
Burial followed at Grave Hill Cemetery in Devonia.
Hatmaker Funeral Home in Lake City was in charge of arrangements.
Annie Lucy Aull
Oliver Springs resident
Annie Lucy Taylor Aull, 95, of Oliver Springs, died Friday, Jan. 9, 2004, at her home.
Born March 9, 1908, in Philadelphia, Pa., she was the daughter of Anderson Taylor and Sarah Settle Taylor.
She was a former employee of Roane Hosiery Mills.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Ensel Vencent Aull; a granddaughter, Kimberly Anette Aull; two brothers, Alfred Taylor and Richard Taylor; seven sisters, Mary Ann Rohrer, Ellen "Nell" Johnson, Dorothy Myrtle Rohrer, Elizabeth Violet Michener, Blanche Conlin, Ruth Russell and Catherine Skyes; and by two sisters who died at birth.
Mrs. Aull is survived by her son, Wayne Allen Aull and wife, Joyce, of Oliver Springs; a grandson, Wayne Allen Aull II, of Oliver Springs; and by a great-grandson, Dewayne Allen Aull, of Florida.
The funeral was Saturday, Jan. 10, 2004, in the chapel of Sharp Funeral Home in Oliver Springs with the Rev. Garvan Walls officiating.
A graveside service was Sunday, Jan. 11, at Anderson Memorial Gardens on the Oliver Springs Highway.
