Mrs. Elizabeth Knowles Trimble passed away Monday following a brief illness. She was born on Aug. 31, 1927 in Menlo Ga. She was the oldest of seven children born to John David Knowles Sr. and Tessie Mae Mack Knowles.
She graduated as salutatorian of Hill High School in LaFayette in 1948 and was joined in holy matrimony with Samuel Trimble on Sept. 30, 1950. The couple relocated to Chattanooga in 1955, where she worked on both Lookout and Signal Mountains until the late 1960s.
Mrs. Trimble worked with the Community Action Program from 1966 until 1969. She joined the TN Department of Human Services in 1970 where she served with acumen and alacrity quickly earning the respect and admiration of colleagues and superiors for the quality of her work; she retired in 1989 and focused on the dress shop (R&T Enterprise) she and her daughter Rita had opened in 1982. The dress shop was renamed “Smart Girl" in 1983 and remained open until 1992.
Always an advocate for children, Mrs. Trimble served as president of the Parent Teacher’s Association for several years at Chattanooga Avenue Elementary School, Howard Elementary School, and Howard Junior High School. While her children were of school age, she served as a homeroom mother and as a leader of the Girl Scouts; she also worked with the Boy Scouts of America where she was a den mother. She was actively involved in youth ministry for more than 60 years. She has not only ministered to young people within the church but also in the community and has been a tremendous influence in the lives of people who are now doctors, lawyers, ministers, police officers, teachers, administrators, and laborers.
A faithful member of the Union Hill Missionary Baptist Church since 1958 she was involved in numerous church committees, ministries and auxiliaries, she was a member of the first Board of Directors of Union Hill and an instrumental figure in its relocation to its present location. She was a member of the Someone-to-Care Ministry, she sang in the Senior and Combined Choirs and worked with various youth ministries within the church, including supervisor of the Youth Choir and the Youth Usher Board, the Red Circle, and the Sunshine Band. She supervised the arts and crafts program during Vacation Bible School for several years until her health prevented her from doing so.
She outlived four brothers, John D., Hardy T., and Jose A. Knowles and Nathan C. Jones; one sister Eliza Ella Sanford, two grandsons, Justin L. and Shawn E. Trimble; and a beloved aunt, Jerrell D. Hudgins.
She left four daughters, Rita M. Trimble Turner, Janice F. Trimble (J.T.) McDaniel, Sandra L Trimble, of Chattanooga TN, and Alva G. Trimble (Lee) Barrett of Hampton VA; three sons, Minister Steve P. Trimble of Ringgold GA; Rodney M. (Sonya), and Stephon K. Trimble of Chattanooga; 25 grandchildren, Norquitta Trimble, Stephanie Trimble (Tim) Baker, Tiffanie Monique Trimble, Jerphon Trimble, Gabriel Chafee Owens Dunn, Tia Cherrelle Reed, Cadarius (Porchia) and Ladarius Trimble, and Quincy Trimble, all of Chattanooga; Torrey Trimble, Sandy Springs GA, Lea Barrett, Hampton VA, Toi (Kenneth) Smith, Atlanta, Alphonso Trimble, Ringgold GA, Ebony McKenzie, Knoxville TN, Kimberly Johnson Shelling, Groveland FL, and Jamichael Trimble, Houston TX; one sister, Jerrel Dean Knowles, Atlanta GA; one brother-in-law Harmon (JP) Wooten, Atlanta; a daughter-in-law, Lynne Johnson Trimble; and special friends Janie McDuffie, Minnie Blanks, Justine Bush Jones.
She had 29 great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren and a multitude of other relatives and friends.
She was called “Grannie” not only by her grandchildren, but by many of the adults who were raised in the Union Hill Missionary Baptist Church as well as those in the South Chattanooga area where she lived for many years.
Final arrangements are Friday, Feb. 12. She will lie in state from 9 a.m. until the home going service at noon at Taylor Funeral Home with Pastor Samuel Jackson, officiating. Service will be broadcast live via Taylor Funeral Home Facebook.