Bessie Fox Vandergriff Smith went home to be with the Lord on March 21, 2015. Bessie was born to Thomas and Elizabeth Fox on February 16, 1926 in Jackson, Kentucky in Breathitt County. The Fox family moved from Kentucky to Tennessee in 1931 where they lived on the family farm on Edgemoor Road where Centennial Golf Course is currently located. She loved the farm and told us stories of the area before Oak Ridge was established as a city. The family moved from the farm to Clinton in 1941 in support of the war effort. She attended Scarboro School, Robertsville High School and Clinton High School. She was an avid bowler in Oak Ridge and Clinton bowling leagues. She loved to play bingo and cards with her sisters or anyone who would play. She was a home maker, worked at the Clinton Court House, and retired from the Oak Racquet Club. She adored her family and we adored her too. Bessie was a loyal member and regular attender of Calvary Baptist Church, Oak Ridge until her health declined.
Granny as she was affectionately known is survived by her five children Karen Holmes (Brian), Ed Vandergriff (Marie), Georgetta Marlow (Glen), G.H. Smith (Donna), and Jeff Smith (Michelle); by three siblings Elizabeth Bolton of Manassas, VA, Minnie Manley of Selma, AL, and Fred (Onah) Fox of Clinton; by 10 grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her first husband Gilreath Vandergriff and her second husband George H. Smith Jr; by siblings Dorothy Margrave, Hazel Brown, Bertha Jenkins, William Fox, and Henry Fox; and by grandchildren Paige Davis, Joshua Smith, and Amanda Vandergriff.
The family will receive friends on Tuesday evening March 24th from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at Holley-Gamble Funeral Home, Clinton. The Funeral will immediately follow receiving of friends. The graveside service will be on Wednesday morning at 11:00 a.m. at Woodhaven Memorial Gardens in Claxton. Pastor Steve McDonald of Calvary Baptist Church, Oak Ridge officiating. The family would like to thank the staff of Life Care Center of Morgan County for their excellent care of our mom. In lieu of flowers the family requests memorials to Alzheimer's of Tennessee or the Jodi Gouge Mission Fund at Calvary Baptist Church. Holley-Gamble Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. www.holleygamblefh.com