Stories from Wednesday, March 18, 2015

By Ivory Riner Staff Writer Old prom dresses and tuxedos were dragged out of the closet and dusted off for the Relay for Life Masquerade Gala Ball, held Saturday night at the Elks Lodge. The Gala raised $5,400 that will go towards the Marshall County Relay for Life team's goal of $75,000 for the year...

By Karen Hall Editor Will you live to see Marshall County farmers making money growing fields of industrial hemp? The answer may depend on how long you live! This is the first year the law allows Tennessee farmers to grow hemp, and many people called UT Extension Agent Rick Skillington asking about it, but he had no answers for them...

By Karen Hall Editor In a brief specially called meeting Tuesday, members of the 911 Board approved the hiring of Joey King as director of the new 911 Center, which is to "go live" on July 1. "The consolidation committee met and decided to recommend Joey King," said Lewisburg Fire Chief Larry Williams, and Police Chief Chuck Forbis seconded Williams' motion to hire King as director...

By Karen Hall Editor In spite of the rain Saturday morning, fishermen were at Rock Creek Park catching rainbow trout. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency released 350 trout in Rock Creek Friday afternoon, and local fishermen were quick to seize the opportunity to catch a species not native to this creek and won't thrive there when the water gets warmer...

Clara J. Wray, 80, passed away on March 14, 2015, at St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital. She was the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Richard and Aline James. She was retired from the Marshall County School System. She is survived by her husband, Rev.William Wray; three daughters, Monae Fletcher, Tonja Wray and Jacqueline London; one son, Darryl Wray; sister, Mary Ruth Horton; and one granddaughter, Kristen Wray...

Martha Myrena Tate, 93, of Lewisburg, died Sunday, March 15, 2015, in NHC Oakwood Healthcare. Mrs. Tate was a native of Marshall County, Tenn. and daughter of the late Felix and Clara May Ealy Waggoner. She was a homemaker and member of the Ostella Church of Christ...

Ethel F. Conner, 79 of Lewisburg, died Friday, March 13, 2015, at her residence. Mrs. Conner was a native of Marshall County, and daughter of the late James Samuel and Willie Brent McAdams Darnell. She was retired from Sanders Manufacturing in Nashville and was a member of Liberty Valley Church of Christ...

On Feb. 2, 2015, the world became a little darker and Heaven even brighter with the passing of an extraordinary man, Thomas Adrian Wheat. Adrian was born on June 8, 1945, in Lewisburg, to a country doctor, Thomas Adrian Wheat, who founded a hospital there, and his wife, Frances Bridges Wheat. ...

Stephen Ray Bennett, 51 of Lewisburg, died Monday, March 16, 2015, in Vanderbilt Medical Center. Mr. Bennett was a Marshall County native and son of James Ray and Delana Stone Bennett. He was a member of the 1981 graduating class at Marshall County High School and Columbia State graduating class of 1983. He was an employee with Ray Bennett Originals and was a member of Parkview Baptist Church...

Ruth Liggett DeFriese, 103, of Knoxville, passed away March 16, 2015. She was a member of Church Street United Methodist Church for over 85 years where she and her husband helped organize the Christian Home Sunday School class. Ruth was the first home demonstration agent in Washington County, a dietician at the University of Tennessee Strong Hall cafeteria and a home economics teacher at Young High School...

Mark Thomas Capps, 53, of Lewisburg, passed away on Sunday, March 15, 2015, at his residence. Mr. Capps was a native of Lewisburg, the son of the late Billy Edward Capps and Inetta "Jean" Clendening Capps of Lewisburg, who survives. Mark was a very loving person, was a member of East Commerce Baptist Church, was attending Mt. Moriah Baptist Church and served his country in the United States Army...

Mary Adelle Henson, 97, of Loretto, formerly of Lewisburg, died Saturday, March 14, 2015, at Crockett Medical Center. Mrs. Henson was a native of Giles County, the daughter of the late Elwood and Mamie Shelton Nance. She was a beautician and homemaker and a member of the Church Street Church of Christ...

Donnie Earl Hancock Sr., 58, of Lewisburg, died Thursday, March 12, 2015, in Lewisburg. Mr. Hancock was born in Trousdale County, Tenn., and was a son of the late Earl and Gracie Satterfield Hancock. He was a member of New Bethel Cumberland Presbyterian Church...