Sources |
- [S75] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume II, 1955-1973, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 2 Jun 1971.
Homer Lee Howard obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 10 Mar 2015.
Elderly couple loses home in Sunday night fire
Family members and friends seeking help for couple
JASON DAVIS
The home, at 3813 Hurst Hollow Road, is still smoldering Monday afternoon after an overnight fire destroyed the structure.
An elderly couple lost their home in a Sunday night blaze in rural Sevier County.
Bonnie Marshall was awakened by a smoke alarm in her house and discovered the fire coming from the basement of the home she shares with her husband of nearly 50 years, Harley Marshall.
“He can’t hear ... and he was asleep,” Connie Howard, Bonnie’s twin sister who lives next door, said. “It woke her up and then she got him up. He got some water and tried to put a little bit of fire out.”
Bonnie, however, saw the smoke and flames were too much for the couple to handle. She alerted Harley that she saw the flames outside the home as well, and the couple escaped — wearing only their nightclothes — to the neighboring home of Howard.
“She banged on my window,” Howard said. “And I heard her say, ‘The house is on fire.’ I didn’t know if she meant mine was or hers was.”
The Marshalls escaped their home with their lives, but not much else, Howard said.
While local optometrists and pharmacists got the couple’s medical needs sorted Monday, there are still some pressing needs for the couple as literally all they had was lost in the fire.
“Everything is completely burned,” Howard, who is letting her sister and brother-in-law stay at her home, said. “Right now people are bringing clothes in.”
The heat from the fire, which leveled the couple’s Hurst Hollow Road home, even damaged the Marshalls’ vehicles, melting plastic parts, breaking windows and scorching the metalwork.
Catons Chapel/Richardson Cove Volunteer Fire Department Chief Melvin Rolen expressed deep sympathy for the couple, who he said have been ardent supporters of the volunteer fire department.
“They’re super people,” Rolen said Monday. “They’ve supported us, and the staff of the fire department. They’ve helped us with all our benefits — they’re there every time. They’re super, church-going, God-loving people.”
Rolen said though the department had swift response to the call, it was too late to extinguish the flames.
“One of our firefighters drove up on it about the time they made the call, and it was 75 percent involved when he got there,” Rolen said.
English Mountain, Sevier County and Pittman Center volunteer departments also responded, as did the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office and Ambulance Service.
Fortunately, the Marshalls didn’t have to go to the hospital.
“They were fine (physically). A little shocked, you know,” Rolen said.
On Monday, Howard said the couple were doing “OK.”
Though they lost their home of 30 years, “they have each other, so that helps,” she said.
Howard said anyone wanting to help Harley and Bonnie Marshall could call her home, 453-6886.
Many had already reached out to help early Monday.
“(Sevier County) is a very good place to live,” Howard said.
- [S112] Census, 1940.
Name Bonnie Howard
Event Type Census
Event Date 1940
Event Place Civil District 1, Sevier, Tennessee, United States
Gender Female
Age 7
Marital Status Single
Race (Original) White
Race White
Relationship to Head of Household (Original) Daughter
Relationship to Head of Household Daughter
Birthplace Tennessee
Birth Year (Estimated) 1933
Last Place of Residence Same House
Household
Role
Sex
Age
Birthplace
Homer Howard Head M 34 Tennessee
Rebecca Howard Wife F 33 Tennessee
Kathaleen Howard Daughter F 14 Tennessee
Hazel Howard Daughter F 13 Tennessee
Reed Howard Son M 11 Tennessee
Connie Howard Daughter F 7 Tennessee
Bonnie Howard Daughter F 7 Tennessee
William Howard Son M 4 Tennessee
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