Christine Hudgings Patterson (October 7, 1920-August 26, 2017) was born in Madison County, Tennessee. The daughter of a sharecropper and a schoolteacher, she grew up picking cotton and determined to make a better life for herself and her family.
She married Eber Patterson of Bells in 1939 and moved with him to Washington, DC, where he worked as a special agent for the FBI and she raised their two young daughters. After the war, the family moved to Indiana, Chattanooga, and Ohio, following her husband’s career. She sewed dresses for her daughters, pushed her children to excel, and worked in a variety of jobs during those years. When her husband became ill, she went to college to become a nurse. They moved to Mountain City, and she worked in the hospital while also caring for him at home. After his death in 1978, Chris moved to Knoxville to be a surrogate mother for her grandchildren and to have a home base for world travels — Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Hawaii.
She retired to Sevierville fifteen years ago and was a vibrant member of the Mountain Brook community. She was funny and no-nonsense, and so she had a wide variety of friends and surprised her family with her opinions and affiliations right up to the end. She did beautiful handwork in all varieties of needle crafts. After mostly losing her sight in extreme old age, she led her whole family on a ramble across single-log bridges, up and over boulders, and through thickets of snake-infested poison ivy, all while confidently declaring, “It gets smooth just around the corner.” She was leading another blind person at the time as well. She could not be argued, sweet-talked, or threatened into using a walker; she proudly retained her independence and lived on her own terms at nearly 97 years old.
She was the fulcrum of her family, which included two daughters, Martha Patterson Chestnutt of Alabama and Claudette Patterson Miles of Ohio, who died in 2001, and five grandchildren, Teresa Shelton Pittman of Virginia, Jen Shelton of Texas, Andrew Shelton of Knoxville, Kevin Miles of Ohio, and Matthew Miles of Ohio. She also had six great-grandchildren: William and Kate Pittman, Caitlin, Reilly, and Kamryn Miles, and Zuzu Shelton. Chris is also survived by her friend Vern Walker of Sevierville, her sister Lila Condor of Oklahoma, her son-in-law Keith Miles, her grandson-in-law Russell Pittman, and granddaughters-in-law Chris Miles and Karen Shelton. Chris’s life had its boulders and poison ivy, but she never lost faith that things would be smooth up ahead. Her remains will be buried in Salem Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Gadsden, Tennessee.
She married Eber Patterson of Bells in 1939 and moved with him to Washington, DC, where he worked as a special agent for the FBI and she raised their two young daughters. After the war, the family moved to Indiana, Chattanooga, and Ohio, following her husband’s career. She sewed dresses for her daughters, pushed her children to excel, and worked in a variety of jobs during those years. When her husband became ill, she went to college to become a nurse. They moved to Mountain City, and she worked in the hospital while also caring for him at home. After his death in 1978, Chris moved to Knoxville to be a surrogate mother for her grandchildren and to have a home base for world travels — Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Hawaii.
She retired to Sevierville fifteen years ago and was a vibrant member of the Mountain Brook community. She was funny and no-nonsense, and so she had a wide variety of friends and surprised her family with her opinions and affiliations right up to the end. She did beautiful handwork in all varieties of needle crafts. After mostly losing her sight in extreme old age, she led her whole family on a ramble across single-log bridges, up and over boulders, and through thickets of snake-infested poison ivy, all while confidently declaring, “It gets smooth just around the corner.” She was leading another blind person at the time as well. She could not be argued, sweet-talked, or threatened into using a walker; she proudly retained her independence and lived on her own terms at nearly 97 years old.
She was the fulcrum of her family, which included two daughters, Martha Patterson Chestnutt of Alabama and Claudette Patterson Miles of Ohio, who died in 2001, and five grandchildren, Teresa Shelton Pittman of Virginia, Jen Shelton of Texas, Andrew Shelton of Knoxville, Kevin Miles of Ohio, and Matthew Miles of Ohio. She also had six great-grandchildren: William and Kate Pittman, Caitlin, Reilly, and Kamryn Miles, and Zuzu Shelton. Chris is also survived by her friend Vern Walker of Sevierville, her sister Lila Condor of Oklahoma, her son-in-law Keith Miles, her grandson-in-law Russell Pittman, and granddaughters-in-law Chris Miles and Karen Shelton. Chris’s life had its boulders and poison ivy, but she never lost faith that things would be smooth up ahead. Her remains will be buried in Salem Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Gadsden, Tennessee.
Christine Hudgings Patterson (October 7, 1920-August 26, 2017) was born in Madison County, Tennessee. The daughter of a sharecropper and a schoolteacher, she grew up picking cotton and determined to make a better life for herself and her family.
She married Eber Patterson of Bells in 1939 and moved with him to Washington, DC, where he worked as a special agent for the FBI and she raised their two young daughters. After the war, the family moved to Indiana, Chattanooga, and Ohio, following her husband’s career. She sewed dresses for her daughters, pushed her children to excel, and worked in a variety of jobs during those years. When her husband became ill, she went to college to become a nurse. They moved to Mountain City, and she worked in the hospital while also caring for him at home. After his death in 1978, Chris moved to Knoxville to be a surrogate mother for her grandchildren and to have a home base for world travels — Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Hawaii.
She retired to Sevierville fifteen years ago and was a vibrant member of the Mountain Brook community. She was funny and no-nonsense, and so she had a wide variety of friends and surprised her family with her opinions and affiliations right up to the end. She did beautiful handwork in all varieties of needle crafts. After mostly losing her sight in extreme old age, she led her whole family on a ramble across single-log bridges, up and over boulders, and through thickets of snake-infested poison ivy, all while confidently declaring, “It gets smooth just around the corner.” She was leading another blind person at the time as well. She could not be argued, sweet-talked, or threatened into using a walker; she proudly retained her independence and lived on her own terms at nearly 97 years old.
She was the fulcrum of her family, which included two daughters, Martha Patterson Chestnutt of Alabama and Claudette Patterson Miles of Ohio, who died in 2001, and five grandchildren, Teresa Shelton Pittman of Virginia, Jen Shelton of Texas, Andrew Shelton of Knoxville, Kevin Miles of Ohio, and Matthew Miles of Ohio. She also had six great-grandchildren: William and Kate Pittman, Caitlin, Reilly, and Kamryn Miles, and Zuzu Shelton. Chris is also survived by her friend Vern Walker of Sevierville, her sister Lila Condor of Oklahoma, her son-in-law Keith Miles, her grandson-in-law Russell Pittman, and granddaughters-in-law Chris Miles and Karen Shelton. Chris’s life had its boulders and poison ivy, but she never lost faith that things would be smooth up ahead. Her remains will be buried in Salem Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Gadsden, Tennessee.
She married Eber Patterson of Bells in 1939 and moved with him to Washington, DC, where he worked as a special agent for the FBI and she raised their two young daughters. After the war, the family moved to Indiana, Chattanooga, and Ohio, following her husband’s career. She sewed dresses for her daughters, pushed her children to excel, and worked in a variety of jobs during those years. When her husband became ill, she went to college to become a nurse. They moved to Mountain City, and she worked in the hospital while also caring for him at home. After his death in 1978, Chris moved to Knoxville to be a surrogate mother for her grandchildren and to have a home base for world travels — Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Hawaii.
She retired to Sevierville fifteen years ago and was a vibrant member of the Mountain Brook community. She was funny and no-nonsense, and so she had a wide variety of friends and surprised her family with her opinions and affiliations right up to the end. She did beautiful handwork in all varieties of needle crafts. After mostly losing her sight in extreme old age, she led her whole family on a ramble across single-log bridges, up and over boulders, and through thickets of snake-infested poison ivy, all while confidently declaring, “It gets smooth just around the corner.” She was leading another blind person at the time as well. She could not be argued, sweet-talked, or threatened into using a walker; she proudly retained her independence and lived on her own terms at nearly 97 years old.
She was the fulcrum of her family, which included two daughters, Martha Patterson Chestnutt of Alabama and Claudette Patterson Miles of Ohio, who died in 2001, and five grandchildren, Teresa Shelton Pittman of Virginia, Jen Shelton of Texas, Andrew Shelton of Knoxville, Kevin Miles of Ohio, and Matthew Miles of Ohio. She also had six great-grandchildren: William and Kate Pittman, Caitlin, Reilly, and Kamryn Miles, and Zuzu Shelton. Chris is also survived by her friend Vern Walker of Sevierville, her sister Lila Condor of Oklahoma, her son-in-law Keith Miles, her grandson-in-law Russell Pittman, and granddaughters-in-law Chris Miles and Karen Shelton. Chris’s life had its boulders and poison ivy, but she never lost faith that things would be smooth up ahead. Her remains will be buried in Salem Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Gadsden, Tennessee.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
