Mary Kathryn Oakley was born on 21 Aug 1923 in Hurricane Mills, Humphreys, Tennessee as the fifth child of John Oakley and Mary Ellen Spencer. She had ten siblings. She died peacefully in her sleep on 28 June 2019 in Waverly, Tennessee, just two months shy of her 96th birthday, having been preceded in death by her three husbands, parents and by all but one of her siblings. She was called Kathryn, Kitten and Darlin' (which was the most common way her husband Houston referred to her).

When she was 15, she married Claude B Matlock, son of Lucian Edward Matlock and Daisy Bell Russell. Claude and Kathryn had one daughter, Martha Jane (Janie) before Claude was killed in a drowning accident in 1945. At that time they were living in Blue Creek, Tennessee, near his family. After his death Kathryn and her daughter Janie returned to the Plant Community, where she lived most of the remainder of her life.

When she was 22, she married Leonard Simmons. Kathryn and Leonard had two sons. Leonard worked for the Tennessee Valley Authority, which took them for a short time to Gallatin, Tennessee. Otherwise, she was a Tennessee River gal, through and through!

At the age of 54, Kathryn was once again widowed when her husband Leonard died suddenly in January of 1978. In her late 50s she met her 3rd husband, Houston Daniel at a dance where he was playing the fiddle, and they remained together almost 40 years until his death in 2016.

Kathryn was a hard worker. She worked primarily as a supervisor in the textile and garment industries in the Tennessee River Valley. She was known to be patient but direct.

Kathryn rarely had a harsh word about anyone, and when she did, you needed to listen!

She had a dislike for anyone to know how old she was, and the only concern she had about living to be a Great-Great-Grandmother was that five generations might give away her age! In addition to her three children, during her lifetime she was blessed with 3 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great-granddaughter. Her second great-great-granddaughter was born just a week after her death.

Everyone loved Kathryn, including many of her extended family. As her great-grand-nephew Kyle Smith wrote on this memorial Kathryn was a beautiful person always sporting a big smile and kind heart. Her life was full and had a great deal of value. She took care of everyone and managed to self love so she could continue her work here on earth. Asleep with our Lord she will remain until we all see her again. 95 years just wasn't enough time.

Thanks to Kyle Smith for the early work on this memorial.