Rinehart Lackey
Rinehart Miller Lackey, 102, a resident of Cleveland, passed away at home on May 17, 2018.
Rinehart was an accomplished woman who was devoted to her family, her church and her community. She touched many lives and will be remembered for her warmth, her wit, her grace and her love.
She was born March 6, 1916, in St. Elmo, Tn., to Lena Kate Wills and Judge Leonidas D. Miller. She was preceded in death by her husband, James Carl Lackey; her parents; her stepmother Edith McAllester Adkins Miller; sisters: Portia Miller Wrenn, Sylvia Miller (Johnson) Graham, Martha Bell Miller and brothers, Joseph P. Adkins and L.D. Miller, Jr.
She is survived by her three daughters: Susan Miller Lackey (John Thomas) of Cleveland, Tn.; Sylvia Lackey Wilson of Los Angeles, Ca.; and Jane Wills Lackey (Thomas Lehn) of Santa Fe, N.M.; six grandchildren: E. Michelle Drake (Michael Flamenbaum) of Minneapolis, Mn.; Aixa Wilson, Asheville, N.C.; Jahleel Wilson, Los Angeles, Ca.; Lisa Thomas and Karen Thomas of Denver, Co. and Angeline Thomas of Chattanooga; and four great-grandchildren: Aislinn Finnegan-Wilson, Phoenix Flamenbaum, Farrah Flamenbaum, and Jacob Goulding; as well as numerous nieces and nephews and their families.
Rinehart grew up in Chattanooga, Tn. She attended Lookout Mountain Elementary and Lookout Junior High. As a young child she and her siblings spent many summers with her maternal grandparents at Valverda, the Wills family farm near Mountain City in Johnson County, Tn. She was a graduate of Chattanooga City High School and the University of Chattanooga. Prior to marriage, she was employed as an elementary school teacher, school librarian, and Hamilton County School bookmobile driver. In 1953, she and her husband moved their family to Cleveland, Tn., to open the Economy Auto-OTASCO store on Inman Street. After retirement in 1977, she became active as a community volunteer and as a member of numerous civic organizations, usually serving at the officer level. She was a committed third generation member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was a volunteer with the Bradley County Nursing Home and American Red Cross. She was a member of the Cleveland Women’s’ Club, Friends of the Library, Rosemary Garden Club, and Embroidery Club. She was a 60-year member of Broad Street United Methodist Church, where she was active in the Fealty Sunday School Class and United Methodist Women.
The family will receive friends from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Thursday, May 24, in the narthex of Broad Street United Methodist Church in Cleveland.
A Celebration of Life service will begin at 1 p.m. with the Reverend Debbie Stokes officiating. Interment at Hillcrest Cemetery, Cleveland, Tn. will follow the service. As a remembrance in lieu of flowers, please perform an act of kindness in her memory.
You are encouraged to share a memory of Rinehart and/or your personal condolences with her family by visiting her memorial web page and guestbook at www.companionfunerals.com.
Companion Funeral Home of Cleveland is honored to be assisting the family with her arrangements.