Faith Bernice Reese

Faith Bernice Reese, of Knoxville, Tennessee, died Oct. 5, 2020, at Westmoreland Care & Rehabilitation Center. She was 98. She was married 51 years to Emory E. Reese, whom she’d known since their childhood in Laurel County, Kentucky. Daughter of Baptist minister Elijah T. Cornett and Polly Hall Cornett, Bernice followed her husband’s career to Connersville, Indiana; Marion, Virginia; and Hamilton and Springfield, Ohio; before they retired to a house they built on Cherokee Lake in the mountains of East Tennessee. Together, they instilled in their children and grandchildren their belief in God, family and proud self-sufficiency, as well as a good dollop of corny humor. After her husband’s death in 1998, she moved to Morristown, Tennessee, and lived on her own, staying active in her church, First Baptist of Morristown, and attending exercise classes at a community center, into her 90s. She had all the skills of the usual homemaker of her day — cook, seamstress, gardener, nurse, doctor and traffic cop — but also the creative bent of a folk artist. She was known for her pressed-flower pictures, often from wildflowers she’d find on roadsides or deep in the woods. Some were simply pretty but all were a little unusual — leaves, as intricate as tatted lace with insect holes; kudzu and its purple blossoms; scenes that duplicated the night sky, complete with Big Dipper, all of tiny blooms. She exhibited and sold her work at crafts fairs, including Mountain Makins in Morristown, for many years. She also had a thriving side business of re- creating brides’ bouquets in dried, framed portraits. She taught herself piano on a small electric keyboard, and could play a little guitar, on which she wrote wry songs about small-town life, including “Bean Station” and “The Bank Guard” (“There’s a gun on my hip/Don’t give me no lip/I’m guarding your bank”). She is survived by her children Annelle Neel, of Knoxville, Tennessee; Mike Reese, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Krista Reese of Decatur, Georgia, and New Market, Tennessee; as well as four grandchildren, Matthew Reese, of Pasadena, California; Kyla Carter of Knoxville; Nathan Foutch of Knoxville; and Bethany Anspach of Ogden, Utah; and 10 great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her husband, Emory; son Barry Reese; her 12 siblings; and Emory’s nine siblings. The last of a generation, she leaves behind a massive network of nieces, nephews and cousins, as well as beloved friends. The family wishes to thank that network for their help and love, as well as the care of the staffs at Trinity Hills Senior Living, and Westmoreland. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to First Baptist Church of Morristown. Private graveside service 2:00 PM Friday, October 9, 2020, at Hamblen Memorial Gardens. Arrangements by Fielden Funeral Home.

Faith Bernice Reese

November 12, 1921 - October 5, 2020