Suzanne Adcock, 74, died Saturday, October 3, 2015, at her home in South Pittsburg following an extended battle with cancer.
She was born in Chattanooga on October 18, 1940, but lived her entire life in South Pittsburg. She was the daughter of Harold Waymond and Clarice Inez O’Neal Adcock, and her family roots in Marion County extend back to the early history of the county.
Suzanne was educated in the public schools of South Pittsburg, graduating from South Pittsburg High School, and her support for the South Pittsburg Pirates was a lifelong passion. She attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville before going to work as a secretary for the Tennessee Valley Authority. She spent her working years at TVA, and she thoroughly enjoyed her opportunities to see multi-million dollar construction projects such as Nickajack Dam, Raccoon Mountain, and Tim’s Ford Dam move from blueprints to finished operations.
During all the years of her working career, and continuing after her retirement, Suzanne participated in practically every civic activity South Pittsburg had to offer. She was devoted to the South Pittsburg Lions Club, serving as an officer multiple times and as chairman of numerous committees. She also served faithfully as a member of the South Pittsburg Parks and Recreation Board, the Marion County Junior Miss Board, the South Pittsburg Garden Club, the Community Service League, the Sewanee Women’s Club, The Ladies Club, the American Business Women’s Association, the Beene-Pearson Library Board, the Marion County Library Board and the National Cornbread Festival.
In all the areas of her volunteer activities, whether at her church or in the many organizations she supported, Suzanne absolutely loved planning programs and securing speakers. She wanted to supply inspiration and enlighten the group members and broaden their horizons and interests. She enjoyed introducing new members of the community to her clubs and organizations, or bringing speakers she had heard with TVA or at other venues to speak to her groups.
One of the organizations that meant the most to Suzanne all her life was the public library in South Pittsburg. She was instrumental in getting the Beene-Pearson Library built, working with Elizabeth Hackworth and others to see that the dream became reality for that beautiful facility. Her devotion to the library included tireless work to support its programs, spending time almost every day in work on the board and in the library itself. Suzanne’s love of books was a constant in her life – not only for her own pleasure but also reading to children at Beene-Pearson Library to nurture their enjoyment of reading.
Although Suzanne never sought recognition for herself in her activities, she was the recipient of many awards for her work in the community. The South Pittsburg Lions Club named her a Melvin Jones Fellow; the South Pittsburg Rotary Club awarded her a Paul Harris Fellowship; the Marion County Chamber of Commerce presented her with an Isabelle Award for Service. She was named the Lion of the Year in her club, its district, and the state, and also named Lion of the Decade. She received the Sertoma Club’s Service for Mankind Award, the Jaycees’ Outstanding Citizenship Award, the Outstanding Young Woman, and received the People’s Choice Award as the “Best Volunteer” in the Sequatchie Valley. She also received the “Pay It Forward” recognition from WTVC and the Key to the City of South Pittsburg.
In addition to her civic activities, Suzanne devoted countless hours to her church – Holly Avenue United Methodist, serving regularly on the Board and in numerous activities there, particularly as the organist for decades and for occasions beyond number. Her church recognized her many years of service by naming the Education Building in her honor.
Suzanne’s musical activities ran for well over fifty years, and she once estimated that she had played for “somewhere between a hundred and a million weddings.” Her contributions to the musical activities in South Pittsburg extended far beyond Holly Avenue United Methodist Church, playing for an untold number of community cantatas and other musical offerings, working with the Community Singers, and playing for the Junior Miss Pageants for years. She played for productions at the South Pittsburg Schools, for numerous funerals, and for residents of the nursing home, and filled in for organists at other churches in emergency situations when her schedule would permit her to do so.
Suzanne loved her family, her church, and her community, and her devotion to all of them has been almost beyond belief. It is hard to imagine how she has found the time to participate in so many things over the years – and she has done it with the most cheerful attitude. She always had a happy smile on her face, whether she was playing the organ, working at the Cornbread Festival, reading at the library, working on a Lions Club project, or cheering on her beloved South Pittsburg Pirates.
Suzanne Adcock, called South Pittsburg’s unofficial Ambassador of Good, undergirded all her activities with an amazing willingness to serve and a positive attitude. It has been said that if Suzanne could do it, she would do it, and do it joyfully.
She was preceded in death by her parents and by one nephew, Harold Waymond “Tres” Adcock, III.
Suzanne is survived by her two brothers: Harold Waymond “Buzz” Adcock and his wife, Sue Adcock; and Dr. Charles Russell Adcock and his wife, Lynn Raulston Adcock, all of South Pittsburg; five nieces and nephews: Dr. Rustan O’Neal Adcock and his wife, Sarah Patton; Dr. Brandan Raulston Adcock and his wife, Heather Mithofer Adcock; and Allyn Sinclair Adcock, all of Asheville, North Carolina; Tara Suzanne Adcock of Nashville, Tennessee; and Joe Alex Adcock and his wife, Kayla Bynum Adcock, of South Pittsburg; great-nieces and nephews: Mancel Caldwell Adcock, Nolan James Adcock, Dahlia Jane Adcock, and Rowan O’Neal Adcock, all of Asheville, North Carolina; and several cousins.
The family will receive friends Sunday, Oct. 4, between the hours of 5 and 8 p.m. at the Rogers Funeral Home in South Pittsburg.
Funeral services will be conducted at Holly Avenue United Methodist Church in South Pittsburg at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 6, with the Reverend Lyle White and Reverend Michael Johnson officiating. Interment will follow in Cumberland View Cemetery in Kimball, Tn.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to Holly Avenue United Methodist Church, PO Box 189, South Pittsburg, Tn. 37380 or the South Pittsburg Lions Club, PO Box 413, South Pittsburg, Tn. 37380 or the Beene-Pearson Library, 208 Elm Avenue, South Pittsburg, Tn. 37380.