Elma Lou Cashion, age 94 of Winchester passed away April 29, 2012.
Elma Lou was born at home on December 4, 1917 to Elmer an Bernice Harrison Cashion of the Lexie community. An only child, but not a lonely child, she often described growing up in the midst of her cousins and other neighborhood children as “wonderful.” Everyone had his or her things to do at the house or on the farm, but with so many children helping the were not chores but simply jobs.
As soon as she was old enough, Elma Lou began attending Lexie Crossroads School. This four room school was a consolidation of Lexie, Vernon, and Caney Hollow. Students rode to school on horseback, stabled and fed their horses and rode them home in the afternoon. In her later years, Elma Lou took great pleasure in retelling stories about their adventures riding to and from school.
As a young woman, Elma Lou put on her Lord in baptism and was a faithful member of the Winchester Church of Christ for many, many years.
Her parents moved to Winchester so that Elma Lou could attend Central High School where she graduated in 1936. She took a job with Dr. James O. Templeton as a dental assistant. This job was the beginning of a more than fifty year career in dentistry. After working and saving her money she attended Eastman Dental Dispensary in Rochester, New Your, and became a certified dental hygienist. Miss Cashion was one of the first Hygienists certified in Tennessee and for many years the first and only Hygienist in a wide area.
Upon receiving her license in June 1945, she became an active member in Tennessee, American, and 4th District Dental Hygienist Association. She was a charter member and served in all 4th District and Tennessee offices and committees. She was twice president of the Tennessee Dental Hygienist Association (TDHA) and delegate to the American Dental Hygienist Association (ADHA) many times. She was trustee of the ADHA 6th and 9th districts.
Elma Lou attended the first International dental; seminar in Florence and Rome and later ones in Amsterdam, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. Over the course of the career, she was privileged to travel widely in both the United States and foreign countries. She received the first lifetime membership in the TDHA and ninth membership in the ADHA. She was the first dental hygienist to assist in giving State Board examinations.
Miss Cashion was a lifelong learner, attending meeting and seminars to keep up with the newest techniques and procedures in dental care. After she returned from a convention, patients and family members alike could expect lectures on proper nutrition and preventive dental care.
Interested in community affairs, she was a charter member of the Franklin County Historical Society and served on the board of the Highland Rim Community Concert Association. A member of the Highland Rim Garden Club bad the Winchester Beautification Committee, she took delight in making things grow and being knowledgeable for the needs of each kind of plant.
In addition to her parents, Miss Cashion was predeceased by her aunt and lifelong companion, Kate Harrison. She is survived by numerous Cashion and Harrison cousins.
Visitation will be 11 to 1 PM on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 with a funeral service at 1 PM in the Moore-Cortner Chapel.
Interment will be in Lynchburg Cemetery.
In Lieu of flowers, donations may be mad the Franklin County Christian Memorial Foundation in care of Andy Groves, 113 Lakeview Drive, Decherd, TN 37324.
Arrangement by Moore-Cortner Funeral Home.
