| Sources |
- [S104] Cocke County, Tennessee, and its People, Cocke County Heritage Book Committee, (Walsworth Publishing, 1992), 58, 162.
- [S112] Census, 1930.
Name: Donna G Layman
Titles and Terms:
Event Type: Census
Event Year: 1930
Event Place: District 08, Cocke, Tennessee, United States
District: 0017
Gender: Female
Age: 3
Marital Status: Single
Race: White
Race (Original): White
Relationship to Head of Household: Daughter
Relationship to Head of Household (Original): Daughter
Birth Year (Estimated): 1927
Birthplace: Tennessee
Immigration Year:
Father's Birthplace: Tennessee
Mother's Birthplace: Tennessee
Sheet Number and Letter: 1B
Household ID: 18
Line Number: 60
Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
Affiliate Publication Number: T626
Affiliate Film Number: 2238
GS Film number: 2341972
Digital Folder Number: 004548152
Image Number: 00368
Household Gender Age Birthplace
Head W R Layman M 34 Tennessee
Wife Maud S Layman F 34 Tennessee
Daughter Delois Layman F 10 Tennessee
Daughter Dorotha D Layman F 8 Tennessee
Daughter Donna G Layman F 3 Tennessee
Maid servant Lou C Vinson F 58 Tennessee
- [S124] Brown Funeral Home, Newport, Tennessee, (http://www.newportfunerals.com), 2 Sep 2013.
(August 6, 1926 - September 2, 2013)
Donna Lewis, age 87, passed away peacefully at her home on September 2, 2013, after an illness of nearly a year. A much-loved teacher, she retired after 38 years of service. Her career began at Edwina School, but most of her tenure was spent at Cosby High School, where she chaperoned hundreds of students on their senior trips. She was a devoted member of the Cocke County Retired Teachers Association and served the group as president for twelve years. She delighted members with her anecdotes known as “The Lighter Side.” She enjoyed recruiting new members and also participated in the Cocke County Retired Teachers Association Theatre Guild formed in 1992. She enjoyed writing, performing, and directing plays and skits. She was preceded in death by her husband, George A. (Gump) Lewis, Jr., parents Walter and Maude Layman, sister Dorothy Layman Mellen, and two infant brothers Glenn Walter Layman and Hugh Doyle Layman. She is survived by three sons: Mike (Myra) Lewis, Clark (Michelle) Lewis, and Mark (Sherri) Lewis, six grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren, one sister Dallois (Vernon) Underwood, and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. The family wishes to extend a special “Thank you” to her beloved caregivers Virginia Black and her daughter Brandi and Sue Henderson. The staff of Smoky Mountain Home Health and Hospice provided wonderful care for her, and she looked forward to the visits from all the staff, especially Linda Onunfur, Kathy Black, Heather Arnold, Ron Carroll, and Kathy Grooms. The family will receive friends from 4:00—7:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 4, 2013, at Brown Funeral Home. Funeral services will follow at 7:00 p.m. with the Rev. Ransom Hall officiating. Family and friends are asked to meet at 9:45 a.m. Thursday, September 5, 2013, at the Cothran Cemetery for the 10:00 a.m. interment. Memorial gifts may be made to the Cocke County Retired Teachers Association in care of Betty Jones, President, 1351 Old Parrottsville Hwy, Parrottsville, TN 37843, or to Stokely Memorial Library, 383 East Broadway, Newport, TN 37821.
Brown Funeral Home is honored to serve the Lewis family
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 3 Sep 2013.
Donna Lewis, beloved educator, civic and church leader, dies at 87
Author: Duay O'Neil
NEWPORT-A woman whose name became synonymous with Cosby High School during her nearly 40 years as a teacher there has died.
Donna Lewis died peacefully at her Edwina home early Monday morning, September 2, 2013, following an illness of nearly a year. She was 87.
She was born August 6, 1926, one of five children of Walter 'Walt' Layman and his wife, the former Maude Clark.
As a child, she entered the old Edwina School, a three-room structure which stood on the site of today's Forestry Service building. In an interview with Katie Pittser in February of 2012, Lewis recalled walking to the school from the family home on Chicken Hollow Road and the old pot-bellied stoves that heated the small structure.
"There were several children from here that walked to school at Edwina so we would all walk together," she said. "I remember if it was raining or snowing, my father would pile all of us into his old truck and drive us down there. It wasn't until I was in third or fourth grade when the county decided to let us ride the bus that would pass by and take kids to the high school."
A graduate of Cocke County High School, she distinguished herself as an outstanding basketball player, a forerunner to her career teaching physical education to hundreds of Cosby High School girls.
Following high school graduation, she entered Carson Newman College. After finishing two years of study, she married the late George Andrew (Gump) Lewis, Jr. After the birth of the couple’s first son, Mike, she returned to school and received her BS in Biology in 1952. In addition to her biology major, Lewis also completed three minors in home economics, health, and physical education.
She gave birth to twin sons, Mark and Clark, a few years later.
Her teaching career began at her own alma mater, Edwina, where she taught fifth and sixth grades. The next year, she was offered the school’s principalship, but also received an offer to teach physical education at Cosby High, where she would spend the next 38 years.
Most of her time was spent as the school’s physical education teacher, but, over the decades she also taught English, reading, social studies, and history to seventh and eighth graders.
Lewis did not limit her work to basic classroom instruction, but immersed herself in the school’s activities and growth. In doing so, she endeared herself to hundreds of Cosby seniors as a chaperone on their senior trips, class sponsor of countless proms, plays, and festivals, and enthusiastic supporter of the school’s athletic teams.
As the years passed, she also mentored numerous beginning teachers, offering witty and practical advise for success in the classroom.
Her continuing influence on her students was clearly evident last April when Cosby alumni returned for the school’s centennial celebration. Although ill health prevented her from attending the event, she was remembered as students swapped stories about their time with “Mizz Lewis.”
An active member of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church for 75 years, she served the church in numerous ways, teaching Sunday School classes and overseeing Vacation Bible Schools for many years.
She also wrote and directed numerous plays for the children at church and enjoyed watching their successful productions.
Upon her retirement from teaching in 1992, Lewis quickly became active in the Cocke County Retired Teachers Association, serving as the group’s president for twelve years, as well as in other capacities. She enjoyed recruiting new members and worked diligently to acquire raises in the pay for retired teachers.
She also delighted her fellow members with her humorous anecdotes she shared at their quarterly meetings in a section of the program called “The Lighter Side.”
An avid reader, she was a devoted patron of Stokely Memorial Library as long as her health permitted, often bringing home-baked treats to the library employees.
She also delighted in her family’s growth and accomplishments and took special pride in the births of two additional sets of twins, four of her great-grandchildren.
Funeral services for Lewis will be conducted at 7:00 p.m Wednesday, September 4, at Brown Funeral Home with the Rev. Ransom Hall, her former pastor, officiating. Burial will be held Thursday morning at 10:00 a.m. in the Cothran Cemetery.
Brown Funeral Home is in charge.
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
Name: Walter Layman
Birth Date:
Birthplace:
Age:
Spouse's Name: Maude Clark
Spouse's Birth Date:
Spouse's Birthplace:
Spouse's Age:
Event Date: 15 Mar 1919
Event Place: Cocke, Tennesee, United States
Father's Name:
Mother's Name:
Spouse's Father's Name:
Spouse's Mother's Name:
Race:
Marital Status:
Previous Wife's Name:
Spouse's Race:
Spouse's Marital Status:
Spouse's Previous Husband's Name:
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: I03286-3
System Origin: Tennessee-EASy
GS Film number: 1928645
Reference ID: 367
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