Gladys Coker^[1]

1908 - 2004  (95 years)

• Name	Gladys Coker
  Born	14 Oct 1908	Coalfield, Tennessee
  Gender	Female
  Died	13 Jan 2004	St. Mary's Residential Hospice   [2]
  Buried	16 Jan 2004	Lynnhurst Cemetery, Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee
  Person ID	I428365	Smoky Mountain Ancestral Quest
  Last Modified	30 Nov 2016

  
  

  Father	Albert Coker,   b. 15 Sep 1887,   d. 24 Apr 1984  (Age 96 years)
  Mother	Minerva Montana "Montana" Butler,   b. 1 Aug 1889,   d. 14 Nov 1969  (Age 80 years)
  Family ID	F171163	Group Sheet

  
  

  Family	Clarence Sowder,   d. Bef 13 Jan 2004
  Family ID	F171169	Group Sheet

  
  

• Event Map		Buried - 16 Jan 2004 - Lynnhurst Cemetery, Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee  = Link to Google Maps   = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources

  [S4] Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee), 18 Dec 2015. Nita Coker Webb obituary [S4] Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee), 16 Jan 2004. SOWDER, GLADYS COKER - age 95 of Knoxville, died 4:34 p.m. Tuesday, January 13, 2004, at St. Mary's Residential Hospice after an extended illness. Born October 14, 1908, in Coalfield, TN, to Albert and Montana Butler Coker , she was baptized into Pleasant Grove Baptist Church at an early age. Her family moved to Knoxville in 1926, and she became a telephone operator. In 1933 she was the second employee hired by TVA's Communication Division, retiring in 1970 as supervisor of the telephone exchange. For many years, Gladys was a faithful member of Arlington Baptist Church. She will be lovingly remembered for the thoughtful, caring things she did for family, friends, and neighbors. She was a beautiful, loving person of great integrity and enjoyed life to the fullest. Preceded in death by husband, Clarence Sowder parents siblings, Blanche, Ralph, Elmer and Carl. Survivors: sister and brother-in-law, Dyllis and Melbourne Highland sisters, Nita Webb , Elizabeth Hammer and Jean Rouse, all of Knoxville brother, Paul Coker of St. Augustine, FL brother and sister-in-law, David and Peggy Coker of Decatur, GA sister-in-law, Katy Coker of Knoxville maternal uncle, Vaughn Butler of Harriman maternal aunts, Mattie Luhr of Lexington, KY, Ruth Freels of Roswell, GA many nieces, nephews and friends. A celebration of life will be held at 2:00 p.m. Friday at Stevens Chapel with Rev. Ray Ridgeway officiating. Internment will follow at Lynnhurst Cemetery. Nephews will be pallbearers. The family extends deepest appreciation for the ministry of friends and the staffs of Hillcrest North, St. Mary's Medical Center and St. Mary's Residential Hospice. Memorials may be made to Arlington Baptist Church, 1928 Fairmont Blvd. Knoxville, TN 37917. The family will receive friends 1 to 2 p.m. Friday at Stevens Mortuary, Oglewood Ave. at Broadway. Mrs. Sowder's guest book also available at www.stevensmortuaryinc.com