Velma Griffith Snipes, 88, of Jasper, Tennessee, passed away at her home, peacefully, on June 22, 2015, with her family at her side.
She was born September 27, 1926 into one of the founding families of Marion County and attended public school at Sulpher Springs and Whitwell High where she graduated in 1944. She married her husband Joe during WWII and performed her patriotic duty of working in mills where military clothes were made while he served in the army in the Pacific Theater. Following the war, her children were born and she worked both in and out of the home. She also assisted her brother, Hoyt Griffith, in his State Farm Insurance Agency. In 1963 she was accepted into the Stenography School in Washington, DC, where she learned her trade during the Kennedy administration. She began court reporting for the State of Tennessee in 1964 to satisfy the state’s compliance of the Civil Rights Act and was assigned to the 12th Judicial District where she worked until 2008. Velma was active in her church, Wesley Methodist, in the late 1950’s and 1960’s and was involved in many school and civic organizations. She held memberships with the Tennessee Official Court Reports Association, McKendree United Methodist Church, the Jasper Lions Club, the American Cancer Society and the Marion County Democratic Party.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Joe Snipes, Sr.; son, Joe Snipes, Jr.; granddaughter, Lacey Belk; son-in-law, Donny Walker; parents, Elvin and Myrtle Griffith; and brothers, Hoyt and Elvin Griffith, Jr.
Survivors include her daughters, Ann Walker; Pat (Les) Price and Sally (Roby) Brown; grandchildren, Chris McGrew, Candi Walker, Sarah (Chris) Price Jones, Susan (Travis) Price Gore, Layne (Josh) Price Jennings, Jenny Price, Tony (Kelly), JJ and Alisa Belk; seven great-grandchildren; brother, Hershel Griffith; sister, Faye Cooper; sister-in-law, Dollye Griffith; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
A funeral service to commemorate her life will be held at 7 p.m. CDT, Wednesday, June 24, in the chapel of Tate Funeral Home with Reverends Ron Ramsey and J.R. Bridgeman officiating.
The family will receive friends for visitation on Wednesday, June 24 from 2 p.m. until the hour of the service at the funeral home.
A graveside service will be conducted by Reverend Cecil Baxter at 11 a.m. CDT, Thursday, June 25, at Sequatchie Valley Memorial Gardens, Jasper.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to McKendree United Methodist Church, Post Office Box 176, Jasper, TN 37347 or a charity of one’s choice.
Tate Funeral Home has charge of the arrangements.