| Sources |
- [S76] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume III, 1974-1986, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 11 Aug 1983.
Pearl Frank Yarberry obituary
- [S27] The Daily Times, http://www.thedailytimes.com/, (Blount County, Tennessee), 2 Mar 2012.
Ruby Yarberry becomes centenarian, surrounded by loved ones
By Melanie Tucker | (melt@thedailytimes.com)
As Ruby Yarberry, one of Blount County’s latest centenarians, prepared to celebrate this milestone at Fairpark Healthcare Center on Thursday, she summed up her sentiments perfectly.
“I feel like a million,” she said, dressed in a pretty blue dress, head topped with a sparkling tiara. Yarberry was rightfully the center of attention at the birthday party held Thursday afternoon. Several family members, including daughter Samita Frei and Yarberry’s grandchildren attended.
Yarberry was born Ruby Teague on March 1, 1912 in Sevier County and had five sisters and four brothers. She was married to Samuel Baker until he died in 1965 and she remarried years later. This 100-year-old has three children, Frei, a son, Max David Baker, who passed away a few years ago, and daughter Betty Drinnon.
Mrs. Yarberry has vivid memories of her growing up days. One of her earliest recollections was when she was only 4 years old and got to take a ride in a wagon with her sister. Their brother, Clark, had given them a ride to a nearby neighbor’s house, and Mrs. Yarberry said Clark left them parked in that wagon in the hot sun for hours.
Then their mother began calling for them, and Clark rushed the girls back home, parched. He was in big-time trouble, Mrs. Yarberry recalled.
She also remembers the day she graduated from Everett High School — May 6, 1930. She said she rode to high school in a horse and buggy.
Like many others of her generation, Mrs. Yarberry was a homemaker who stayed home with her two children. Then when her first husband died in 1965, she decided to go to school and become a nurse. She spent a few years then working at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. On Thursday at her party, there was a photograph of her in her nurse’s uniform.
The birthday party Thursday was a pleasant surprise for Mrs. Yarberry, who even got her hair done for the occasion. Frei said they were initially planning a small celebration, but Fairpark wanted to do this up right. Frei said she is grateful.
“At the next 100 years, I’m not coming,” she teased her mother.
Ask Mrs. Yarberry about some of her favorite times and she will describe a visit the the Holy Land back in the 1970s and her love of teaching adult Sunday school classes. She also remembers the day she was baptized, at age 12, alongside her twin sister, Opal in a stream.
“The preacher, for whatver reason, decided to baptize us at the same time,” Mrs. Yarberry said. She said when he went to dunk her under the water, he dropped her. “I don’t know why he wanted to baptize us at the exact same time,” she said. She did what she knew to do — swim to the top.
This breast cancer survivor has led a wonderful life. She lived alone for years until her health declined and she moved to Fairpark in Maryville. She was an excellent cook in her day — nobody could fry up chicken any better. She said she taught her daughter how to do the same.
Whenever anyone reaches centenarian status, it’s a requirement to ask how they made it this far. Mrs. Yarberry hesitated a brief moment before explaining, it’s because of clean living. She also said a strong work ethic contributed as well.
She is a member of Sevier Heights Baptist Church and taught Sunday school for years. She loved to read the Bible before her eyesight began to fail. Being a Christian, she said, has prepared her to one day meet Jesus in heaven.
“I know the Lord and He knows me,” Mrs. Yarberry said.
- [S112] Census, 1940.
Name: Ruby T Baker
Titles & Terms:
Event: Census
Event Year: 1940
Event Place: Ward 12, Knoxville, Civil District 2, Knox, Tennessee, United States
Gender: Female
Age: 28
Marital Status: Married
Race (Original): White
Race (Standardized): White
Relationship to Head of Household (Original): Wife
Relationship to Head of Household (Standardized): Wife
Birthplace: Tennessee
Estimated Birth Year: 1912
Residence in 1935: Same Place
Enumeration District Number: 97-53
Family Number: 93
Sheet Number and Letter: 5B
Line Number: 72
NARA Publication Number: T627
NARA Roll Number: 3957
Digital Folder Number: 005461329
Image Number: 00310
Household Gender Age Birthplace
Head Sam A Baker M 36 Tennessee
Wife Ruby T Baker F 28 Tennessee
Son Max Baker M 7 Tennessee
Daughter Samita Baker F 5 Tennessee
- [S26] Berry Funeral Home, (www.berryfuneralhome.com), 9 Sep 2012.
Yarberry, Ruby Teague Baker- age 100, of South Knoxville, passed away September 9, 2012 at Fairpark Nursing Home. She was the oldest living member of Sevier Heights Baptist Church and a Sunday School teacher for many years. Preceded in death by husbands, Samuel Baker and Pearl Yarberry; son, Max Baker; parents, William Alexander Teague and Mary Jane Clark Teague; brothers, Clark, Donald, Ronald, and Dale Teague; sisters, Bea Lowe, twin sister, Opal Bratton, Lois French, Billie Keeble and Joyce Huffaker. Survivors: daughters, Samita Frei and Betty Drinnon; special daughter-in-law, Shirley Baker; grandchildren, Lisa (Gary) Morris, Scott (Suzie) Frei, Leslie Choy, LuAnn (Rick Leeper) Marshall, David Baker, Marti (Gary) Lindsay, and Derek (Kim) Baker; several great grandchildren; 5 great, great grandchildren; many nieces and nephews and special niece, Nanabelle Flynn. Special thanks to the staff of Fairpark Nursing Home for their loving care. Funeral services will be Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at 7:00 pm in the chapel at Berry Funeral Home with Rev. Charlie McNutt officiating. Family and friends will meet at 11:00 am Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at Woodlawn Cemetery for the interment. Memorials may be made to Gideons International, P.O. Box 140800, Nashville, TN 37214 or Shiners' Hospital for Children, Burn Center, 3229 Burnet Avenue, Cinnicinati, OH 45229. The family will receive friends from 5:00-7:00 pm prior to the service in the chapel at Berry Funeral Home, Chapman Highway. Condolences may be offered at www.berryfuneralhome.com.
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
Groom's Name: Sam A. Baker
Groom's Birth Date:
Groom's Birthplace:
Groom's Age:
Bride's Name: Ruby Elizabeth Teague
Bride's Birth Date:
Bride's Birthplace:
Bride's Age:
Marriage Date: 19 Jun 1931
Marriage Place: Blount, Tennessee
Groom's Father's Name:
Groom's Mother's Name:
Bride's Father's Name:
Bride's Mother's Name:
Groom's Race:
Groom's Marital Status:
Groom's Previous Wife's Name:
Bride's Race:
Bride's Marital Status:
Bride's Previous Husband's Name:
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M00566-0
System Origin: Tennessee-EASy
Source Film Number: 2073517
Reference Number: B
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