| Sources |
- [S80] Rawlings Funeral Home, (http://www.rawlingsfuneralhome.com/), 20 Feb 2003.
Martha Ainer Maples obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 4 Apr 2011.
Marriage, music, mountains say a lot about Rawlings’ Georgia Parton
Office administrator Georgia Parton talks on the phone at Rawlings Funeral Home as Jackie, her husband of 50 years, looks on. (Bob Mayes/The Mountain Press)
By BOB MAYES
SEVIERVILLE — Although it has been more than 50 years, Jackie Parton still clearly remembers the day he met the girl who would become his wife. His father had just become the pastor at Glades Lebanon Baptist Church, and ...
“I walked into the church and saw her sitting there and I said, ‘That’s the one,’” he said last week. “And it stuck. I knew she was special.”
Folks who come into contact with Georgia Parton as the office administrator as Rawlings Funeral Home (which she notes is marking its 100th anniversary in business), may not know just how special she is.
For starters, on Aug. 18, Georgia Parton and Jackie will celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. Fiftty years. It’s not a milestone that many reach in this modern day of divorce at the drop of a hat.
Georgia also comes from one of the pioneering families of Gatlinburg, tracing its roots to when The Glades was a fledgling artistic community. There, as a child, she watched and helped as her grandparents, mother and siblings made specialty crafts.
Not only was Georgia’s family very musical, she also married into Sevier County’s most famous and celebrated musical families. Jackie’s father and Dolly’s father were first cousins and they still see each other family reunions.
To most in the community, however, Georgia is probably best known for usually being the first person a bereaved family comes into contact with at the funeral home after the passing of a loved one. Sometimes that means she has to become an instant friend, confidant or counselor.
“Some of them come in and they have their composure,” she said, “but some of them come in and they’re still pretty upset. I just try to talk to them and be very calm. I try to console them and tell them everything’s going to be all right. I tell them I’m here to help you in any way that I can. Every one of us who works here, that’s our job — the care of the people.
“It’s something I like doing, meeting people and talking to them. You form friendships with them that go on after you’re done (dealing with them professionally).”
Georgia looks fondly back on her days growing up in The Glades. Her grandfather, she says, made rifles by hand, start to finish, and made different kinds of chairs by hand. Both her grandmother and mother wove for the Arrrowmont School and she remembers helping in all those areas.
“I never realized when I was growing up and I was around all of this stuff, helping with the weaving and furniture-making, was a great thing it was,” Parton said. “I didn’t realize until I was grown up what a unique thing it was.
“I can remember back when I was 6 or 7 years old, tourists would come to my grandparents’ house to buy the stuff they made. They came from Gatlinburg and all over.”
Music always was — and continues to be to this day — a big part of her life. Her mother and brother all played musical instruments. On her daddy’s side, her grandfather Redman Maples played the banjo and was like a troubadour, “walking the streets of Gatlinburg, playing for the tourists.”
Husband Jackie is a few years old than Cousin Dolly, but has vivid memories of time they spent together as children.
“On Sundays after church, we’d go over to their house, which was about 10 miles away,” Jackie said. “We wouldn’t exactly play together, but I’d play the guitar and she’d sing. I’m a little bit older than she is.”
Jackie, who is semi-retired and also works at Rawlings, has always played and has a still has a group that plays bluegrass and gospel in churches and benefits. “We’re called The Parton Family, but people don’t get us confused (with Dolly),” he said with a smile.
Georgia plays guitar, as well, but she’s not part of the group.
“I just play at home, for my own benefit,” she said.
The couple have two children and four grandchildren and spending time with family is of paramount importance. Georgia also likes to read and travel, especially to Myrtle Beach or Maggie Valley.
As the couple celebrates 50 years, she is asked the secret to having a successful marriage.
“Religion has played a big part, and being able to talk,” Georgia said, Jackie sitting just a few feet away in the office at the funeral home. “We’ve never had a big argument, but we’ve had a few disagreements. We just talk it out.”
Words to live by.
bmayes@themountainpress.com
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, d. 20 Sep 1998, Sevier County, Tennessee