Vera Jean Crowell Holder Ladd of Tullahoma, passed this life on Wednesday, February 6, 2019 at her son’s residence in Manchester, at the age of 82 years. Graveside Services are scheduled for 3 PM Saturday, February 9, 2019 at Hurricane Cemetery in Moore County.

A native of Moore County, she was the daughter of the late Glen and Elizabeth Crowell. She was a member of Hurricane Baptist Church in Moore County. She loved to watch baseball and westerns on television, fishing and growing flowers. In her younger days, she enjoyed square dancing.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her first husband, Clyde Holder and brother, Kenneth Crowell.

Mrs. Ladd is survived by her husband, James Ladd of Tullahoma; son, Barry (Mary Ann) Holder of Manchester; daughter, Joy (Jimmy) Reed of Mulberry; stepson, Ricky Ladd of Manchester; stepdaughter, Beverly Hulsey of Manchester; brother, Phil (Linda) Crowell of Wartrace; sister, Patricia (Frank) Talley of Tullahoma; eight grandchildren and thirteen great grandchildren.

Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Margaret Merritt, 92 years old, of Libertyville, Illinois, passed away
peacefully on February 6, 2019 at Condell Hospital in Libertyville. She
experienced a fall on January 17, and her health declined rapidly
thereafter.

Please join us in celebrating her life which was dedicated to family,
church, and an unfailing commitment to being kind and helping others.
Visitation will be from noon to 2:00 pm on February 16, 2019 at the
Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home, 401 N. Jackson Street, Tullahoma, Tennessee.

Funeral services will be held 2:00 pm on February 16, 2019 at the
Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home with Chris Gannon of the Northside Church of
Christ in Nashville officiating. Burial will follow at the Concord
Cemetery in Tullahoma.

Margaret was born in Birmingham, Alabama to Charles and Mattie Spurgeon on
December 28, 1926. She graduated from Marshall County High School in
Guntersville, Alabama in May 1947 where her favorite subject was
“Democracy”. She married Winfred Merritt on December 21, 1946 in a joint
ceremony with brother and sister-in laws Robert and Cathleen Kilgore.
After WWII Margaret and Winfred moved to Michigan and then to Iowa where
she worked as a customer service representative for several companies.
During retirement, she and Winfred lived in McMinnville, TN. After
Winfred’s death, she moved to Libertyville, Illinois to be closer to
family. She lived at Spring Meadows, a retirement community, where she
used her enormous talent for helping people as head of the Hospitality
Committee. She was a life-long member of the Church of Christ.

Margaret is preceded in death by Winfred, who died in 2003, and eight
siblings.

She is survived by two sons and a daughter, Michael and daughter-in-law
Sally, Charlotte Harris, and Chris Merritt and daughter-in-law Susan. She
had seven grandchildren, Michael Jr., Scott, Miranda, Rod Burrows, Carrie
Burrows (deceased), Jack, and Evan, and eight great-grandchildren, Kayla,
Brandon, Rebecca Burrows, Samantha Burrows, Lily Burrows, Ella Burrows,
Rory and Maia. She was deeply loved by many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the Hawthorn Church of
Christ, 240 U.S. Route 45, Indian Creek, IL 60060.

*When God Thought of Mother*

*By Henry Ward Beecher*

When God thought of mother,
He must have laughed with satisfaction,
and framed it quickly –
so rich, so deep, so divine,
so full of soul, power, and beauty,
was the conception.

Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home in in charge of arrangements.

Emily Messick Cunningham, of Tullahoma, passed away unexpectedly on
January 23, 2019.  She was preceded in death by parents Clarence
Wesley Messick and Beulah Elizabeth Pearson Messick, and son, David
William Cunningham. She is survived by her husband of 62 years, Dr. James
William Cunningham; her daughters Beth Sell (Charles) of Nashville, TN,
and Kay O’Connell (Matt) of Franklin, TN; her siblings Billy Messick
(Sherry), Jimmy Messick, Eddy Messick (Kathleen), and Debby Matthews
(Jim); her sister-in-law, Ann Cunningham; her grandchildren Ryan
Cunningham (Katie), Allison Cunningham, Charles Sell, William Sell,
Benjamin O’Connell, and Emily O’Connell; daughter-in-law Janet
Cunningham; several nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews. Born
in Bell Buckle, TN, Emily graduated from Bell Buckle High School, where
she was an active participant and leader of the Beta Club and the Bedford
County 4-H Club. She won multiple championships with her Jersey cows and
was chosen to represent her county at many state and national meetings.
Emily attended Middle Tennessee State University and later worked for The
Webb School and Arnold Engineering Development Center. After staying home
many years to raise her three children, she began a 27-year career in
sales at Arnold’s Furniture of Tullahoma. Emily loved Tullahoma and was
very involved in the community. She held many leadership positions in The
AEDC Women’s Club, was a Girl Scout leader, and worked the polls at every
election. She volunteered regularly at her children’s schools, the local
Guidance Counsel, the Distinguished Young Women Scholarship Program, and
her church. At Arnold’s Furniture, Emily was able to combine her
knowledge of furniture and her love of design with her desire to help
others. She loved getting to know her customers and using her expertise
to help them create beautiful homes that functioned well for their
families. She was known for tending to every last detail and took pride
in a job well done and a satisfied customer. Emily was an accomplished
bridge player and played with many clubs throughout her years in
Tullahoma.  She was still playing at least 3 times a week, enjoying
the camaraderie of friends, as well as a little competition. A memorial
service will be held at First Christian Church in Tullahoma, TN, on
Saturday, February 9th, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. with visitation to follow in
the fellowship hall. Memorial donations may be made to The Leukemia and
Lymphoma Society, The American Heart Association, or First Christian
Church of Tullahoma.
Kilgore Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Blanks, James “Jamie” Rightman, of Tullahoma, passed this life on
Wednesday, February 6th, 2019 at Tennova Healthcare-Harton at the age of
81. He was born March 21, 1937 in Hohenwald, Tennessee, the son of
William “Billy” Ezekiel and Lillie Norine Harrell Blanks. Jamie attended
high school in McKenzie, Tennessee and enrolled at the University of
Tennessee Knoxville College of Engineering in 1955. He entered the
cooperative engineering program and had a work assignment with the Light,
Gas, and Water Division for the city of Memphis.  Jamie was married
to his high school sweetheart, Janice Dean Webb, in 1959 and they were
married until her death in November of 1992. Both Jamie and Janice
graduated from the University of Tennessee with B.S. degrees in
Mechanical Engineering and Education respectively. Jamie accepted a
position with the Union Carbide Nuclear Company in Oak Ridge, TN. After
working with Union Carbide, Jamie accepted a position at AEDC in December
of 1962. During his time at AEDC, he worked primarily in the
hypervelocity range facilities and has been associated with operations,
research and project management. He also attended UTSI after moving to
Tullahoma and received his M.S. degree in mechanical engineering. Outside
of work, Jamie also enjoyed gardening, flowers and working in his yard as
well as working on genealogy, which began after the death of his maternal
grandfather in 1968. In addition to his parents and first wife, Jamie was
also preceded in death by his second wife, Carolyn Deaton Howell Blanks,
who died in 2008; his only brother, Billy Harrell Blanks; and three
step-children, Richard Gregory Howell, Patrick Matthew Howell and Jeffrey
Andrew Howell. He is survived by three children, Lisa Karen Blanks and
her husband, Mark Alan Ellis of Manchester, James Harrell Blanks and his
wife June-Ellen Schlimmer of Tullahoma and Laura Leigh Blanks and her
husband William Randolph Allen of Dunlap; one step-son, Timothy Blake
Howell and his wife Melonie of Tullahoma; three grandchildren, James Dean
Blanks, Janice Kathryn Allen and William Webb Allen; and three
step-grandchildren, Aaron Gregory Howell, Jacob Alexander Howell and
Ethan Matthew Howell. Visitation will be held on Friday, February 8th,
2019 at Kilgore Funeral Home from 5:00-8:00pm. Funeral services will be
held on Saturday, February 9th, 2019 at 11:00am in the Kilgore Funeral
Home Chapel with Bro. Pat Allison officiating. Burial will follow at Rose
Hill Memorial Gardens.
Kilgore Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.