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- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 31 May 2006.
Virginia McMahan Cureton, age 77, of Newport, passed away peacefully at her home on Wednesday, May 31, 2006. She was born November 5, 1928. She was preceded in death by her husband William Raymond Cureton, who passed away on December 25, 2003. Survivors include her children: William (Billy) Raymond Cureton Jr. and wife, Jane Huff Cureton; Terry Lynn Cureton and wife, Susan Moss-Cureton; Karen Louise Cureton Nelson and husband, David Kyle Nelson; and Jan Cureton Brockwell and husband, Terry Brockwell; grandchildren, Angie and Richard Todd Cureton, Shane and Katherine Cureton Swann, Anne and Terry Cureton Jr., Rico and Jennifer Cureton Barner, David Nelson, Ben Nelson, Malory and Jeremy Nelson, and Steve and Amy Brockwell Swaffer; great-grandchildren, Will Cureton, Kaleb and Korey Barner, Wes Swaffer, Eli Nelson, Austin Nelson, and Karli Gann Cureton; sister, Carol McMahan Metcalf, and husband, Dan Metcalf; nieces and nephews, Allison and Eric Manes and Bert and Amy Metcalf; and great-nephews, Bo Denton and Beck Manes. Family will receive friends from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday prior to the 8 p.m. funeral service at Brown Funeral Home Chapel at Brown Funeral Home, Newport, with the Reverend Tom Mooty officiating. Interment will be 11:00 a.m. Saturday at Union Cemetery. Rawlings Funeral Home, www.rawlingsfuneralhome.com, in charge of arrangements.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 1 Jun 2006.
Funeral services are scheduled for tomorrow night for Virginia Ruth McMahan Cureton, former Cocke County Clerk and Master and widely known owner of the Log Cabin Restaurant. Cureton, 77, died suddenly Thursday morning at her home on Upper Broad Street of an apparent heart attack.
Appointed by then Chancery Court Chancellor Buford A. Townsend to the post of Cocke County Clerk and Master, Cureton succeeded the late Viola Clark to the post. She held this position for twenty-four years, serving under three chancellors: Townsend, Earl Hendry, and Chester Rainwater. During her tenure, the Clerk and Master's office was known for its efficiency and courtesy. Cureton's distinctive personality and flamboyant handwriting became widely known. While still Clerk and Master, Cureton opened the Log Cabin Restaurant near Kineauvista Hill in Cosby, a family style eatery which soon attracted thousands of customers from around the world. Nearly every member of the Cureton and McMahan families eventually worked in the establishment, doing everything from cooking to cleaning to waiting tables to mowing the beautiful hilltop lawn. Television and sports personalities, including Stan Brock, Lee Majors, Pete Maravich, Pat Head Summitt, Bill Bates, and John Ward, patronized the establishment, along with such Tennessee political figures as Honey Alexander, wife of then Governor Lamar Alexander, and Representative Martha Ashe. For many years Cureton enjoyed hosting the entertainers and workers at the Cosby Ramp Festival for a lavish breakfast the morning of the event. Built of logs from the Williamson barn and from a Wilsonville tavern, the business quickly outgrew its original structure and was expanded to more than double its original size. Opened at Thanksgiving in 1976, the business closed in August of 2000. Born in nearby Hamblen County on November 11, 1928, Cureton, whose family roots run to such early East Tennessee pioneer families as the Fine, Henry, and McMahan clans, came to live in Newport at age 12. She attended Cocke County High School. In October of 1946 she married William Raymond Cureton, who preceded her in death on Christmas Day, 2003. As a teenager she went to work as a clerk at The Friendly Store, operated by the late Erwin and Gertrude Siskin on Main Street. She recently told of going with Mrs. Siskin to Atlanta on buying trips for the firm and how much she enjoyed the fine clothes and shoes she modeled for the shop. After leaving The Friendly Store, she next worked as a clerk at Stokely-Shults Drug Store and quickly became a favorite with the patrons because of her bubbling personality and ready laugh. Over the next twenty odd years, she held a variety of jobs, including working at both the Winston Theatre and Newport Drive-In as a ticket seller, at radio station WLIK where she sometimes found herself as an announcer, at the Newport Plain Talk as a proofreader, as a secretary at the local tobacco warehouses and at the former Tennessee-Carolina Fair office, as a baker at Linger's Bakery, as a census taker, and driving a truck filled with chips and snacks for area country groceries. When the Newport Rescue Squad was organized, her husband was a charter member, and she quickly became actively involved in its companion group, the Newport Rescue Squad Crewettes. At one time she served as their president. Always interested in the betterment of her community, she enjoyed helping with various philanthropic drives. She was a member of First Baptist Church. According to her family, regardless of what job she held or what project she supported, her first priority was her love for her family. Her immediate survivors include her four children and their spouses: William Raymond (Billy) and Jane (Huff) Cureton; Terry Lynn and Susan (Moss) Cureton; David and Karen Louise (Cureton) Nelson, and Terry and Jan (Cureton) Brockwell. She is also survived by the following grandchildren and their spouses: Richard Todd and Angie Cureton; Shane and Katherine (Cureton) Swann; Terry and Anne Cureton, Jr.; Rico and Jennifer (Cureton) Barner; David Nelson, Ben Nelson, Jeremy and Malory Nelson, and Steve and Amy (Brockwell) Swaffer. The highlights of her life were her great-grandgrandchildren: Will Cureton, Kaleb and Korey Barner, Wes Swaffer, Eli Nelson, Austen Nelson, and Karli Gann Cureton. She was looking forward to the births of three more great-grandchildren in the near future. She is also survived by one sister, Carol McMahan Metcalf and her husband, Dan; and their family: Eric and Allison (Metcalf) Manes, Bert and Amy Metcalf, Bo Denton, and Beck Manes. The family will receive friends from 5:00-8:00 Friday evening at Brown Funeral Home Chapel, after which Rev. Tom Mooty will officiate at the funeral service. Interment will be held Saturday morning at 11:00 at Union Cemetery. Rawlings Funeral Home, Sevierville, is in charge. Family and friends may register on-line at www.rawlingsfuneralhome.com
- [S147] Find a Grave, (Memorial: 49437040).
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