JEFFERY ALLEN PATTERSON , loving husband, father and grandfather, age 52, died Sunday at his home. Funeral services will be Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 11 a.m. at the Broad Street Church of Christ where Jeffery was a member and served as a deacon. Burial will follow in Unity Cemetery. He was employed at TBDN in Jackson for 15 years, Element Aluminum for 3 years and presently employed with AMS in Lexington. He is survived by his wife, Jan Priddy Patterson; three sons, Joshua (Kristy) Patterson, Jake (April) Patterson and Jon Patterson all of Lexington; three sisters, Judy Melton, Janice (Gary) Jones of Lexington and Joy (Bud) Thomason of Huntingdon; three brothers Tommy (Janice) Patterson of Luray, Jimmy (Connie) Patterson of Lexington, and Joel (Wendy) Patterson of Lancaster SC; four grandchildren, Eli and Grant Patterson and Layla and Tyler Beecham; father and mother-in-law, Bill and Nelle Priddy and sister-in-law Ginger (Kevin) Bankston. (Reeds Chapel)
Jackson Sun June 10, 2008

CARL PERKINS , whose song "Blue Suede Shoes" and lightning-quick guitar-playing influenced Elvis Presley, the Beatles and a slew of other performers, has died aged 65. Mr Perkins died in Nashville, Tennessee, from complications related to three strokes he had suffered in November and December, family spokesman Albert Hall said. The tall, broad-shouldered Perkins was famed as one of the proponents of "rockabilly," a cross of rhythm-and-blues and country music that came out of Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, in the mid-1950s. He also wrote some of the top hit records in rock 'n' roll and country music. A near-fatal traffic accident in 1956, coupled with the rise of Presley, prevented him from becoming a bigger solo star. Perkins wrote and recorded the 1956 smash Blue Suede Shoes, which Presley later re-issued. Perkins' version sold 2m copies itself before Presley's rendition also became a hit. Perkins also wrote the rockabilly standard Dixie Fried and the songs Honey Don't, Matchbox and Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby, which were later covered by the Beatles. His relationship with the Beatles lasted long after their breakup in 1970. Perkins dueted with Paul McCartney on the country ballad Get It, a song off McCartney's 1982 album, Tug of War. On the same record, he played rhythm guitar on the McCartney-Stevie Wonder hit duet, Ebony and Ivory. He met the Beatles in 1964 during a British concert tour with another rock 'n' roll pioneer, Chuck Berry. About his influence on the Beatles, he said in a 1985 interview, "They advanced it (guitar playing) so much. That rockabilly sound wasn't as simple as I thought it was." Perkins grew up picking cotton in Lake County, Tennessee, where he listened closely to music sung by blacks as they worked in the fields together. As a youngster, he used to retreat behind the family chicken house to pretend he was singing on Nashville's Grand Ole Opry. At the age of seven, he began playing a guitar that his father, a tenant farmer, had made from a cigar box, a broomstick and baling wire. He wrote Blue Suede Shoes after hearing someone telling his date at a high school prom not to step on his blue suede shoes. Perkins went home to his dark housing project in Jackson, Tennessee, and wrote the song on a brown potato sack. Shortly after recording the song, Perkins was seriously hurt in a traffic accident and spent a year recovering and unable to capitalise on his mounting fame. During this time, Presley also recorded the song and earned much of the popularity that Perkins had been building. "I was bucking a good-looking cat called Elvis who had beautiful hair, wasn't married and had all kinds of great moves," Perkins said in 1986. Unknown to many Carl Perkins did a great deal of work for charity, especially with the Exchange Club-Carl Perkins Centre for the Prevention of Child Abuse. The world of music will miss his easy-going nature and his undoubted skill as one of the world's truly great guitar players.
Photo by Ron Moody at Find-A-Grave

VALDA (CRIDER) PERKINS , Services for Val (Valda) Perkins, 74, will be 11:00 AM Thursday, November 17, 2005, at the North Chapel of George A. Smith and Sons. Entombment will follow in the mausoleum of Ridgecrest Cemetery. Mrs. Perkins died Tuesday, November 15, 2005, at home in her sleep. She was born in the Bemis Community, daughter of the late Bedford Cullie and Lillie Matilda Laycook Crider. She was a member of Bemis United Methodist Church. Val Perkins was the widow of Carl Perkins, who preceded her in death January 19, 1998. (Valda and Carl married in January 1953) After the death of Carl Perkins, Val remained actively involved in all of their business affairs. Her life revolved around her beloved Carl and their children. Val Perkins was the epitome of a Southern lady who stood by her man. That's the way Doris "Cousin Tuny" Freeman, a longtime family friend, described the widow of rockabilly legend Carl Perkins, who died in her sleep Tuesday at age 74. Her husband, a philanthropist who began the Exchange Club/Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse, preceded her in death on Jan. 19, 1998. The Carl Perkins Civic Center is named in his honor. "Carl had a lot of things happen to him when he was younger. He used to say he'd sown his wild oats, but Val helped him collect them," said Freeman, who worked with him many hours on the Circles of Hope Telethon for the Carl Perkins Center. "There was only one woman in his life, and that was Val," she added. "He always said he wanted to go first because he couldn't live without her. I told him that was the best work he'd done, when he got her to marry him." Martha Bain, Carl's sister, is the one who got the two together back when they were in high school. "Val's passing is just a complete shock to me," Bain said. "In early 1942, I started attending the Bemis Elementary School, and Val and I were in the same class. In high school, she and I got to be really good friends. We double-dated with Carl and George, my husband, who's been gone two years." Bain said the two couples were inseparable. "She loved him so much. I used to tell her, 'I'm a really good friend of yours because I'm the one who used to push Carl to you.'" They were the perfect match, Bain said. Val Perkins enjoyed collecting things and sharing with friends and children in need. Libby Murphy, another family friend, recalled once when Carl Perkins went to sing and talk with two very sick teenagers at Christmas, Val went into her extensive doll collection and picked out a doll for each one. "She was a very giving person," Murphy said. "Both Carl and Val Perkins were vital parts of our community," said Charles Jackson, Jackson Exchange Club president in 1991, and president of the Carl Perkins Center in 1985. "I always found her to be a very gracious and caring lady. She was always very supportive in all the endeavors and undertakings of the center and was very supportive of Carl himself." Pam Nash, executive director of the Carl Perkins Center, had known Val Perkins for 20 years, since Nash took her first job at the center. "She attended every event she could attend and was very enthusiastic about the work being done with the kids. She had a great sense of humor and was just a great friend. I don't think she ever missed a Blue Suede Dinner & Auction, and she was very supportive of the Circles of Hope Telethon. She supported Carl in everything he did." But the legendary entertainer's wife also was a musician in her own right: a pianist and a singer. Bain and her friend Val had their own radio show about the same time Carl had his. "She played the piano, and she and I sang together before we married Carl and George. We also played at Coffee Time at 10 a.m., a brunch at a restaurant in downtown." Later on, Val Perkins' own musical skills helped Carl in his career. "She had suggestions about his music, and he listened. She didn't always take credit for things, but even though Carl, her sons Stan and Greg are credited with the song 'Silver and Gold,' Val helped some, too." When Dolly Parton was writing songs with Carl, she'd come to Jackson to visit. Val would fix her cornbread and Great Northern beans, which Parton loved. She also cooked special foods when Wynonna and Naomi Judd came to visit. Yet while she tried to stay in the background, her intelligence and business acumen brought her forward. "Val was quite a businesswoman, really," Bain said. "If she thought someone was not doing Carl the way they should, she'd speak up. She'd talk to his manager." Freeman added, "Val always stayed in Carl's shadow, but she always had her hand on his shoulder. He always said he would not have accomplished anything without her. She was the financial leader in the family. He told me, 'Every once in a while, I slip a $100 bill in my boot, but Val takes cares of me.' " After Carl's death, she would tell Bain, "He's not on a road trip. He's not coming back anymore." So Bain said that while it's hard on those left behind, "Val's with Carl now, and she's happy." "It's a celebration," Freeman added, "because they're reunited." She leaves four children, Debbie Swift and her husband, Bart; Stan Perkins and his wife, Connie; Steve Perkins and his wife, Donna; and Greg Perkins and his wife, Dawn; all of Jackson, TN; She also leaves nine grandchildren, Shannon Langley, Carla Simmons, Suzanne Swift, Lesleigh Woodward, Jay Perkins, Chase Perkins, Matthew Watkins, Jonathan Watkins and Cody Watkins, four great-grandchildren; and a sister, Clara Crider of Linden, TN. The Perkins family would like to extend their appreciation for the devoted care given to Mrs. Perkins by Frances Carroll, Virginia Haskins and Martha Yarbro. Memorials may be directed to the Carl Perkins Center for Child Abuse,, 217 E. College, Jackson, TN 38301; or to the Cerebral Palsey Association of West TN, 34 Garland Dr., Jackson, TN 38305.
Source: L. Brown at Find-A-Grave - As reported in The Jackson Sun on 11/16/2005 (Photo by Christie at Find-A-Grave)

BETTY CAROL HAMLETT PETERSON - Graveside services for Betty Carol Peterson, 68, will be held at 2:00 P. M. Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at Highland Memorial Gardens with Dr. Jerry Barker officiating. Mrs. Peterson died at her residence on Saturday, September 8, 2007. Arrington Funeral Directors is in charge of arrangements. Mrs. Peterson was born on March 24, 1939, the daughter of the late Malcolm Hamlett and the late Lucille Hicks Hamlett Kelso. She was a 1957 graduate of the former Jackson High School. She had many hobbies that included crocheting, working puzzles, collecting dolls and sewing. She was a Baptist in her belief. She is survived by her husband, Devie "Pete" Peterson of Jackson; a son, Gary Peterson and wife Becky of Jackson; a daughter, Debbie Phillips and husband Roger of Jackson; three grandchildren, Tarra Morris, Dana Peterson and Christopher Phillips and three great grandchildren.

CARL WESLEY PHILLIPS - Funeral services for Carl Wesley Phillips were held Monday, April 26, 2004 in the Chapel of Lawrence-Soresen Funeral Home. Burial followed in the Beech Bluff Cemetery. Mr. Phillips, 59, died suddenly Thursday, April 22, 2004 at Jackson Madison County General Hospital. He was a former employee with the Jackson Madison County Ambulance Authority. He is survived by his wife, Rheba Ross Phillips; 3 brothers, Charles Phillips of Huron, Terry Phillips of Lexington, and John Phillips serving in Iraq; sister, Nancy Replogle of Jackson.
Contributed by Joy Beth Campbell Lexington Progress Wednesday, May 5, 2004

HOMER CAROL PINKERTON - Funeral services for Homer C. 'Bo' Pinkerton, 59, will be held at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 17, 2003 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints with Bishop Martin Fordham presiding. Burial will follow in Highland Memorial Gardens. Mr. Pinkerton died Sunday at U.T. Bowld Hospital in Memphis. Arrington Funeral Directors is in charge of arrangements. Mr. Pinkerton was born February 26, 1944 in Jackson, Tennessee, the son of the late George E. and Virginia Bulloch Pinkerton. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and served his country in the U.S. Air Force. Mr. Pinkerton was retired from the City of Jackson Fire Department after serving 24 years as a firefighter and was a member of the local Retired Firefighters Association. Mr. Pinkerton is survived by his wife, Patty Pinkerton of Jackson, TN; two sons, Dallas Pinkerton and fiance, Mickie Mclaughlin of Jackson, TN and Shawn Pinkerton and wife Misty of Bradford, TN; one daughter, Sarah Morris of Jackson, TN; a brother, George E. Pinkerton, Jr. of Humboldt, TN; two sisters, Ann Warjonen of Deerfield Beach, FL and Monna Kay Jones of Humboldt, TN; three grandchildren, Brandon Loyd, Anna Pinkerton and Carissa Pinkerton; several nieces and nephews and best friends, Michael and Dorothy Page of Finger, TN. Pallbearers will be the members of the City of Jackson Fire Department.

MARY KATHERINE (BAILEY) POPE - Services for Mrs. Mary Katherine Poe, 91, will be held Monday at the George A. Smith and Sons Main Street Chapel with Rev. T. D. Robinson and Dr. Wood Wetstone officiating. Burial will follow in Sunnyside Cemetery in Madison County near Mercer. Mrs. Pope died Saturday at her home after a sudden illness. She was the widow of Vollie Monroe Pope who preceded her in death in 1970. Mrs. Pope was a member of Lambuth Memorial United Methodist Church and a organist there for over forty years. She graduated from Lambuth College and taught music for many years. Surviving one daughter; Dorothy Katherine Goff of Jackson; two grandchildren; Robert M. Goff of Montgomery, Ala., and Judy Bowling of Vilia Hills, Ky; and three great grandchildren. The Pallbearers to serve will be David Pope, David Fatt, Jack Angel, Jack Hilliard, Bill Bonson, and James Wambrod. The Family will receive friends Sunday between 2:30 to 4:40 and 7:00 to 9:00.

RUTH ELVIRA (WHITELAW) PRUITT - 72, of Memphis, retired employee of Senior Services, died of heart failure Wednesday at Saint Francis Hospital. Services were Friday at Family Funeral Care Summer Avenue Chapel with burial in Providence Methodist Church Cemetery in Brownsville, Tenn. Mrs. Pruitt,the widow of Willie Pruitt, leaves a daughter, Billy Hays of Memphis;two sons, David Pruitt of Memphis and Thomas Pruitt of Knoxville, andtwo grandchildren.
(From "The Commercial Appeal," Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, 2 Dec 2000.)