JOHNSON COUNTY, TN - OBITUARIES - Helen S. Gentry, 27 Oct 2003 ----¤¤¤---- Helen S. Gentry Mrs. Helen S. Gentry, 79, Piercetown Road, Butler, died Monday, October 27, 2003 at the residence of a daughter, Debbie Fanning, Bingham St., Elizabethton. A native of Butler, she was a daughter of the late Alfred M. and Clara Catherine Evans Stout. She was a caring and loving wife, mother and a devoted grandmother. Mrs. Gentry was a homemaker and retired from Levi Strauss with nine years of service. Mrs. Gentry devoted her life for the care of others before and after her retirement. She was a 1942 graduate of the Watauga Academy, Butler. She was also deeply committed to the preservation of the memories of Old Butler and the Butler Museum. She was active in the Watauga Alumni Association. Mrs. Gentry was a member of the Butler Baptist Church where she taught pre-school Sunday school, was a nursery worker and played the piano when needed. She was preceded in death by her husband, Paul P. Gentry, and two sisters, Selma Graybeal and Kate Wilson. Survivors, in addition to Debbie and her husband, Granger Fanning, include another daughter and son-in-law, Suzette and Froy Hernandez, of Fontana, Calif.; three grandchildren, Jennifer Robinson, of Silver Springs, Md.; Kelly Robinson, of Johnson City, and Paul Robinson, of Fontana, Calif.; a sister-in-law, Mary Gentry Oliver, of Port Richey, Fla.; eight nephews; two nieces, and two special friends, Leta Lewis and Ann Dugger. Funeral services will be conducted at 8 p.m. Thursday, October 30, 2003 in Memorial Funeral Chapel with the Rev. David Cunningham officiating. Graveside services and interment will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, October 31, 2003 in the Butler Memorial Cemetery. Active pallbearers, who are requested to assemble at the funeral home at 10:15 a.m. Friday will be Douglas Wilson, Roger Wilson, Gene Graybeal, Marion Graybeal, Albert Gentry, Randy Gentry and Jim Graybeal. Honorary pallbearers will be her church family, the Watauga Academy Alumni and Dr. Jeff Farrow. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday in the funeral home. Friends may also call at the residence of a daughter and son-in-law, Debbie and Granger Fanning, 603 Bingham Street, Elizabethton. To those who prefer, memorials may be made in memory of Mrs. Gentry to the Butler Museum, P.O. Box 261, Butler, TN 37640. Family and friends will assemble at the funeral home at 10:15 a.m. Friday to go to the cemetery. Memorial Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: The Elizabethton Star http://www.starhq.com/ -----------------------------------------------------------------------------