Barnes, Theresa Antionette

Loved Caring For And Supporting Those Around Her

  • Monday, January 13, 2025
Theresa Antionette Barnes
Theresa Antionette Barnes

On May 9, 1956, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, God blessed Matthew Lee and Frankie Lee Swoopes with the birth of a daughter, Theresa Antionette. She was the fifth born of this union that would ultimately be blessed with nine children.

Theresa received early education in Chattanooga and attended Riverside High School. Immediately following graduation, Theresa moved to Nashville, attending Tennessee State University. She later moved to Washington, D.C. where she embarked on a career in politics working for Presidents Carter, Reagan and Bush I. It was in D.C. that Theresa met the love of her life Alphonso Barnes, and their union was blessed with a “darling” daughter Allyson Corinne. After 15 years in politics and following the passing of her beloved husband, Theresa returned to the South, settling in Atlanta. It was here that she became a faithful, active member of Travelers Rest Missionary Baptist Church, Morrow, Ga., and realized her true calling…to be an aid and constant support to all those around her. She was the other mother for so many.

At her time of death on Jan. 5, 2025, Theresa was back home in Chattanooga doing what she loved most, being a caregiver and offering support and comfort to her family and extended loved ones. Some of her favorite times were her Tuesday lunches with her nephew “My DJ” and hanging with her best friend Jackey Ware-Brooks and “the Old Lady Gang” (as she affectionally called them).

When God called Theresa home, she reunited with her mother, Frankie and father, Matthew; great-grandparents, Ida and Ernest; grandparents, Mary and Nathan, Corine and Ernest, husband, Alphonso; brother, Ronald; sister, Nadine; nephews Kenrick and Kenneth Jr. and a host of aunts, uncles and cousins who preceded her in death.

She leaves to cherish her memory: one daughter, Allyson C. Barnes (Heather) Atlanta; step-daughter, Dawn Hillie (James); three grandchildren, Kimberly (Darren), Kevin, and Darius Brandywine, Md., three sisters, Susie Petty, Chattanooga, Sandra Hammock, (Kenneth Sr.) Radcliff KY, Latoyta Swoopes, Chattanooga; four brothers, Matthew Swoopes Jr. (Edna), Donald Swoopes, Ernest Swoopes, Chattanooga, Leonard Swoopes (Evora) Indian Head, Md.; one aunt, Jean Fox, Roxbury, Ma., and a host of nieces and nephews along with extended family and friends with whom she shared a very special bond.

She will lie in state on Thursday, Jan. 16, at 9 a.m. at Taylor Funeral Home.

Funeral services will follow at 11 a.m. in the chapel. Burial will be in Highland Memorial Gardens.

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