Gentry Smith Funeral Home

Mr. Robert “Wayne” Fathera, 54, of Readyville, Tennessee passed away on Tuesday, June 20, 2023. He was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on Monday, December 9, 1968. Preceding him in death were his grandparents, Bob and Helen Fathera and Arvis and Lena Black, and mother, Shirley Anne Black.

Throughout his childhood, Wayne kept his family busy. During the warmer months, he wanted to be out on the lake, especially if it involved swimming. When things began to cool down, he kept his family occupied taking him to basketball games and practices. That need to stay moving also influenced Wayne’s interests. He kept up with NASCAR and boxing, and while he didn’t necessarily have a favorite driver or boxer, he sure did talk about Jeff Gordon and Mike Tyson a lot. 
Throughout his childhood, Wayne kept his family busy. During the warmer months, he wanted to be out on the lake, especially if it involved swimming. When things began to cool down, he kept his family occupied taking him to basketball games and practices. That need to stay moving also influenced Wayne’s interests. He kept up with NASCAR and boxing, and while he didn’t necessarily have a favorite driver or boxer, he sure did talk about Jeff Gordon and Mike Tyson a lot.

Born and raised in the Walter Hill community, Wayne grew up as any normal country boy would. Fishing, country music, God, racing, and sports were central in his life, just maybe not in that order. However, he did have an affinity for the water, and luckily, their home was right at some good fishing spots.
Visitation will be held at Gentry-Smith Funeral Home on Wednesday, June 28, 2023 from 11 am – 2 pm. Funeral services will follow directly after on Wednesday, June 28, 2023 at 2 pm in the Gentry-Smith Funeral Home chapel. Tim Gentry will officiate. Interment will be in Coleman Cemetery.It was a good thing Mr. Tommy liked blue because Wayne was a boy through and through. As he grew older, he wanted to take the leap from boy to man, and his dad got him a job working construction. For the majority of his working life, that affinity toward water kept Wayne with W.L. Hailey & Company in Nashville. He had the work ethic and personality for the job.  He is survived by his father, Tommy Fathera of Readyville; sister, Monica Knight of Rock Island; 3 nephews all of Rock Island; special cousins, Becky Baskin and Barry Black both of Murfreesboro; and several aunts, uncles, and cousins. Born and raised in the Walter Hill community, Wayne grew up as any normal country boy would. Fishing, country music, God, racing, and sports were central in his life, just maybe not in that order. However, he did have an affinity for the water, and luckily, their home was right at some good fishing spots. A good person to his core, Wayne set out to do right by the company and the customer, and he kept the crew morale up with his jokes throughout the day. From his hobbies to his interests to his work, Wayne grew up to be a man’s man, and it’s with heavy hearts that the family lays their baby boy to rest.

It was a good thing Mr. Tommy liked blue because Wayne was a boy through and through. As he grew older, he wanted to take the leap from boy to man, and his dad got him a job working construction. For the majority of his working life, that affinity toward water kept Wayne with W.L. Hailey & Company in Nashville. He had the work ethic and personality for the job.
Not everyone likes to plan ahead, but pre-planning your funeral arrangements not only gives you a peace of mind about your final wishes being honored, but alleviates some of the stress and burden your loved ones are going through as they experience the grief associated with the loss.You can reach us at (615) 563-5337, 24 hours a day. Speak with directly one of us. You won’t have to listen to recordings or go through answering services to get the help or information you need. We will give you our obituary information and assist you with any other questions.

Please come by to visit and meet us. We are always glad to talk with families. Look around and see what a beautiful and comforting place we offer for families. It is our commitment to provide our services in a professional, caring, and compassionate way. We follow the “The Golden Rule, Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Every person is unique in the way he or she handles the loss of a loved one. While the grieving process is different for each of us, we all experience some common feelings as we work toward healing from our loss.Working in the Caregiving, Affect, and Relationship Experiences (CARE) Laboratory has involved collaboration on developing and utilizing a coding scheme to find positive, negative, and neutral affect in children’s essays to determine correlations between the affect shown at age 11 and future benefits; aiding in the design and data collection of an empirical study to make causational statements about the relationship between the different forms of mindsets and passions; cleaning data and developing skills on SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences); strengthening knowledge and abilities with Qualtrics; developing professional communication skills via correspondence with investigators while gathering variable composites for citation in working paper for publication; and aiding fellow lab members in their research by testing equipment, running participants, and reviewing surveysWorking for the Office of Medical and Health Professions has involved preparing for one-on-one tutoring sessions with students in Introduction to Molecular Biology and General Chemistry, formatting tutoring sessions to match the learning style of each student, aiding to develop the students’ scientific knowledge foundation in preparation for upper level courses, providing comprehensive and personalized lessons over scientific concepts, encouraging critical thinking and appropriate test taking skills, developing a mentor relationship with students as they navigate the pre-health requirements and life as a college student, and evaluating the students’ progress in learning and the effectiveness of my communication.

Working for the Office of Medical and Health Professions has involved preparing for one-on-one tutoring sessions with students in Introduction to Molecular Biology and General Chemistry, formatting tutoring sessions to match the learning style of each student, aiding to develop the students’ scientific knowledge foundation in preparation for upper level courses, providing comprehensive and personalized lessons over scientific concepts, encouraging critical thinking and appropriate test taking…
Working for Turk-Browne Lab to collaborate with the Yale Child Study Center; Yale-New Haven Hospital; Haskins Labs; Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Sciences; Pediatrics; and Yale Department of Psychology and develop a community-based research recruitment initiative with specific focus on developing a curriculum to teach parents about the development of their child from the 1st trimester to 6 years of ageActivities and Societies: Campus Crusades Ministries; Eta Sigma Phi (Honors Society for Classical Studies); Sewanee Health Professions Society; Varsity Cross Country; Varsity Track and Field

Competing on Sewanee’s Cross Country and Track & Field teams required being a collaborative and contributing teammate, maintaining the capability to endure, and developing mental fortitude. I served as the co-captain for Cross Country my junior and senior seasons and for Track & Field my senior season.
I assist two marketing professors in their administrative and teaching responsibilities. My primary responsibilities include: coordinating the social media accounts for the Marketing Department, creating marketing strategies, aiding in research and data analyses, reporting attendance, and grading assignments.Handling organization’s finances for events, creating a budget, and working with fellow officers to accomplish tasks including creating a welcoming atmosphere to recruit from all pre-health fields, developing and executing event ideas, and remodeling the organization to better fufill the needs of the student population

Working in the Caregiving, Affect, and Relationship Experiences (CARE) Laboratory has involved collaboration on developing and utilizing a coding scheme to find positive, negative, and neutral affect in children’s essays to determine correlations between the affect shown at age 11 and future benefits; aiding in the design and data collection of an empirical study to make causational statements about the relationship between the different forms of mindsets and passions; cleaning data and…
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It is a tradition within the funeral industry for licensed partners’ names to be included. Therefore, the former Smith Funeral Home has been renamed Gentry-Smith Funeral Home. Tim Gentry gratefully and humbly acknowledges the opportunities and trust placed in him by Mike Smith, Bill Smith, and Christine Dillon and the support and encouragement of numerous family and friends.
In 1971, Mike Smith founded Smith Funeral Home offering compassionate service based on trust, supporting the families of our community with the heart of a loving neighbor. In 1999, Mike’s father, Bill Smith, and Christine Dillon joined him in a partnership to continue those traditions with Smith Funeral Home moving to its present location. In 2000, Tim Gentry was hired as a Funeral Director and Embalmer to further this mission, working alongside his future partners, mentors, and friends.Our funeral directors are experts in helping to create meaningful services that are unique and honor your loved one in ways that are special and meaningful. We offer several ways to personalize a service from tribute videos to keepsakes, to live streaming for family and friends that cannot attend in person.

Whether you choose burial or cremation, a funeral service is an important part of honoring your loved one and starting the healing process. We offer service options that are meaningful and affordable.
Gentry-Smith Funeral Home offers distinctive, personal, and affordable services designed to help you honor your loved one in a way that is unique to them and meaningful to you.We offer several service options for families that choose cremation which can include a full service funeral, a memorial service, or something more private, as well as permanent resting place options for the cremated remains. With as much as Bobby loved the water, you’d think that would be central to his kids’ years growing up, but actually, their lives usually revolved around dirt. The only hobby Bobby loved more than being on the water was being out on the softball field. He played on an adult team well into his late 30s and frequently held the title of oldest on the team. It didn’t bother him though because he knew he could give those teens and twenties a run for their money on the field. When Bobby wasn’t on the field, he was watching one, preferably with the Braves on it. A big fan, he did his level best not to miss any of their games. After Bobby’s retirement, Florida called his name again, and he moved back to the Coco Beach area. In his free time, he discovered a passion for a new sport that was a little bit easier on his body — golf. Getting out on the green was about the only time in Bobby’s life where he tried to avoid the sand, but that’s enough about the Saturday, weekend, and vacati
on activities. The day that Bobby really lived for was Sunday.

Our programming is designed to help entertain and inform our listeners. If you would like to make any suggestions about our programs, please send your comments to:He must have had a little bit of gypsy in his blood. Because after living in Coco Beach for a few years, he decided it was time to move again. He moved back to Tennessee for a little while, then to Daytona Beach, Florida, and then finally back to Tennessee for the last time. That wandering spirit knew this earth was not his home. He was just passing through. While his family rejoices that he is in God’s care, they mourn the absence of the man they knew as “Dad.”

Throughout her career, she taught elementary school, music, and adult education. Nelda retired from teaching after 33 years. She was an educator, wife, devoted mother, and grandmother. She was a member of the Church of Christ, an avid gardener, and had a love for music. She sang opera in college, taught violin to her elementary students, and was an accomplished pianist. She cherished her family, friends, and faith.
Now just because Carrier Corp was his primary work scenery did by no means mean that Tennessee was his only scene. It’s fitting that he was born on a Saturday because Bobby has a knack for making the most of his days off of work. Those beach trips? He took them as frequently as possible, and when he couldn’t get to the beach, the lake called his name. His dad, Dixie, had always been an avid fisherman, and Dixie made sure to teach his kids to enjoy it. As those kids got older though, they traded the relaxing fishing trip for something with a little more excitement.Lillian called, encouraged, listened, and ministered to those in need. She continued to put her focus on God first and others second no matter what challenge came her way. The grace and dignity with which she conducted herself reigned true to her final breath. Now, she has entered into her great reward in the presence of her Savior and the arms of her husband.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Woodbury Church of Christ or the ABC Girls. If donating to the ABC Girls, please make checks payable to Woodbury Church of Christ and put ABC Girls in the memo.Throughout his childhood, Wayne kept his family busy. During the warmer months, he wanted to be out on the lake, especially if it involved swimming. When things began to cool down, he kept his family occupied taking him to basketball games and practices. That need to stay moving also influenced Wayne’s interests. He kept up with NASCAR and boxing, and while he didn’t necessarily have a favorite driver or boxer, he sure did talk about Jeff Gordon and Mike Tyson a lot.

Funeral services will be 2 pm, Sunday, June 25, 2023 in the Chapel of Woodbury Funeral Home with Bro. Greg Mitchell officiating. Interment will follow at Leoni Cemetery. The family will receive friends for visitation from 10 am until 2pm Sunday, June 25, 2023.
This level of involvement and attention to detail on things that matter didn’t just go for the generations after Lillian though. She was an avid genealogist for her family and traced it back through the Civil War and Revolutionary War. She knows her family signed the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence in 1775, and that their flight to North America goes back to a Presbyterian minister who fled Scotland under persecution of the Queen of Scots. Looking through the countless papers and notebooks of documented information, her family is convinced she could have been a private investigator.Mrs. Lillian Rhea Alexander, 90, of Woodbury, Tennessee went on to be with the Lord on Friday, June 9, 2023. She entered this life in Readyville, Tennessee on Wednesday, October 12, 1932. Preceding her in death were her husband, Richmond Alexander; parents, Jake and Mildred Finley Alexander; sisters, Marlene Taylor, Elaine Martin, and Jessie Burr Jackson; and sister-in-law, Betty Ann Alexander.

Glenda Fay Anderson Armstrong of Woodbury, Tennessee passed away peacefully at home on June 9, 2023. She was born in the Pea Ridge Community of Liberty, TN, on October 6, 1940 to parents Edgar Lee and Ora Lee Anderson. She is preceded in death by her parents, husband W.G. Armstrong, brothers Clifton Melton and Charles Anderson; sisters Irene Roberts and Billie Braswell Simpson.

He is survived by two sons, Douglas (Rachel) Carroll of Hillsboro and Terry (Kim) Carroll of Morrison; step-daughter, Christiana Snow of Morrison; step-son, Phillip (Michele) Adcock of New Palestine, Indiana; one sister, Joan (David) George of Bradyville; two brothers, Roy (Joni) Carroll of Hillsboro and Rick (Sok Sun) Carroll of Shelbyville; ten grandchildren, David Harper, William Carroll, Austin Carroll, Bryson Carroll, Mackenzie Jones, Kaylee Suggs, Cadence Carroll, Maci Lefevers, Braeden Adcock, and Bentley Adcock; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.A member of the Prosperity Baptist church, she was retired from Cumberland Swan where she worked in customer service. She enjoyed watching the Titans play, talking to her friends but most of all she loved her family and spending her time with them.Nelda will be remembered by her sister, Melba Plonk; her five children, Genie, Margaret, Joy, Gerrilyn, and Claudia; ten grandchildren; three great-grandchildren.

Funeral Services will be at 1 PM Saturday, June 24, 2023 in the Chapel of Woodbury Funeral Home with Bro. Barry Gibbs officiating. Interment will follow at Blues Hill Cemetery. The family will receive friends for the visitation from 3 to 8 PM Friday, June 23 & 9 to 1 PM Saturday, June 24.
Survivors include her children, Ricky Caldwell of Woodbury, Connie (Greg) Rigsby of Dandridge TN; Grandchildren, Melissa Luttrell, Lawanna Peeler, Candise Hendricks, and Trevor Rigsby (Emily); great-grandchildren, Makenna Luttrell, Maci Caldwell, Madelynne Bogle, Sam Holloway, Charlotte Hendricks, Fiona Hendricks, Cora Jo Rigsby, and Sophie Quinn Rigsby; great great-grandchild, Raelynne Carter.He loved trips to the beach, so what better way to do it than live near the beach? Going back to his roots in block laying, he remained in Florida from 1972-1974 doing construction and building residential houses. It was in 1974 that Carrier Corp called him back to Tennessee with the opportunity to keep his seniority from his previous employment. There was only one other time that Bobby decided to change his scenery from Carrier Corp, and that was when he worked for H&R Block doing tax prep work for a few years. From then on, he worked at Carrier Corp until the plant closed and he decided to retire.

Funeral services will be 2:00 PM Friday, June 16, 2023 in the Chapel of Woodbury Funeral Home with Bro. Thomas Hale officiating. Interment will follow in Hillview Cemetery, Alexandria, TN.
Daniel “Danny” Bracy Young, 51, of Dowelltown and formerly of Woodbury, TN. passed away suddenly at his home Sunday, June 11, 2023. A native of Cannon Co., he was preceded in death by his father, Bracy Young and his beloved grandmother, Ms. Annie Cox.

The Carroll children enjoyed taking the boat out and going water skiing, and that went double for Bobby. Some of his boys cherished memories revolve around going to Tim’s Ford for water skiing. The lake became a big part of their childhood, and Bobby made sure they were safe. To teach them to swim, he’d strap them up in their life jackets and chuck them out in the water. Once they got close to the boat, he would move it, and he did this over and over until they were comfortable swimmers.After several years of taking care of Richmond, he went on to be with the Lord, and half of Lillian’s heart went with him. Not having Richmond with her meant she finally had to face the reality of her own declining health, and over the course of the years, Lillian became less physically capable. But she never let that stop her from working for the Lord. When her body was failing her, that’s where technology came into use. Lillian was known for quite lengthy phone calls, and Tim and Brenda accommodated her with another charged phone always on hand.