Katherine Giles
Katherine Reagan Giles, 90, went to her eternal home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on February 21, 2018 with her daughters, Nancy and Janet, by her side. She was loved by her family and friends, and she will be greatly missed.
Katherine was born April 10, 1927, in Sevier County, Tn., to the late Charles Elmer and Margaret Parton Reagan. She has been a resident of Cleveland for more than 75 years, moving here with her parents and siblings as a young teenager.
Katherine was a devout Christian and she served her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ faithfully. She attended Valley View Baptist Church until her declining health prevented her attendance. She was a member of The Ladies’ Sunday School Class. Each member of the class held a special place in her heart.
At the age of seventeen, Katherine married Raymond Giles, age eighteen, on August 26, 1944 just days before he was shipped overseas to serve in the U.S. Army in World War II. Katherine waited patiently for his return from two long years of service by working and saving for a home they would share at his return.Her husband did return from his military service and they began building a life together that lasted many years. Katherine was a faithful and loving wife and mother. She made many sacrifices for her family. She worked tirelessly to provide a good home for her husband and their two daughters. Raymond passed away July 12, 2015, just six weeks prior to their 71st wedding anniversary.
Katherine had a special talent for teaching young children and she enjoyed every minute of the time she was able to spend with them. In her active church service years, she taught Sunday school classes and Vacation Bible School classes. Katherine also used her talent and love of teaching children as a teacher’s assistant at the Siskin Foundation in Chattanooga, Tennessee where her daughter, Nancy, was attending classes for the deaf. Katherine was determined to help her daughter to learn to talk, to lip read, to be educated, and to be able to live and work in a hearing world. With the Lord’s help and guidance, Katherine and Nancy accomplished it all!
Katherine was an accomplished floral designer. She and her husband owned Giles’ Florist located in Cleveland in the 1960s. She loved flowers and made them look even more beautiful by using her talent for floral design.
Katherine enjoyed cooking and baking. In her lifetime, she made many beautiful wedding cakes andbirthday cakes. Baked Alaska was one of her favorite desserts to prepare for her family. Her fried raisin pies and coconut pies were out of this world. Her family will certainly miss those delicious treats.
Katherine enjoyed reading, composing songs and poetry, drawing, gardening, camping, vacations to Florida, and traveling to Dollywood several times a year to see the latest shows. She enjoyed trips to Gatlinburg, not only to visit family and friends, but to see how “her Smoky Mountains” had changed and grown. Cleveland was where Katherine lived; Gatlinburg was her home.
In addition to her parents and husband, Katherine was preceded in death by her infant brother, Charles Elmer Reagan, Jr.; sister, Charlotte Reagan Huffman; sister-in-law, Bobbie Reagan; niece, Jenny Ann Ogle; parents-in-law: Oscar and Ruby Giles; brothers-in-law: Tommy Kile and Gale Franks.
Katherine leaves behind to cherish her memory her daughters: Nancy Giles and Janet Walls; son-in-law,Mickey Walls; granddaughter, Ainsley S. Walls; sisters: Virginia Ogle and husband, Ray; Esther Compton and husband, Eddie, all of Gatlinburg, Tennessee; brother, Paul Reagan, of Kentucky; several nieces and nephews; and the extended Giles Family. She also leaves behind two very special friends and prayer partners: Jimmie Ruth Humberd and Hazel Stout, both of Cleveland
Serving as casketbearers will be David Chase, Roger Franks, Zach Franks, Chris James, Mark Odom, and Brandon Stepp.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, at Valley View Baptist Church, 4657 Spring Place Road, S.E., Cleveland, Tn. The family will receive friends at the church from 1:00-2:30PM prior to the service. Internment will follow the service in the Red Hill Cemetery.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to Valley View Baptist Church, 4657 Spring Place Road, SE, Cleveland, Tn. 37323 or to Red Hill Cemetery Fund, 1333 Strawhill Rd. SE, Cleveland, Tn. 37323.
You are invited to share a personal memory of Katherine, or your condolences with her family, at her online memorial at www.companionfunerals.com.
Companion Funeral and Cremation Service and the Cody family are honored to assist the Giles family with these arrangements.