Mary Black Webster Sowell

Mrs. Mary Black Webster Sowell, 98, former long-time resident of Academy Lane, died Monday, August 9, 2010 at Little Creek Sanitarium in Knoxville. Funeral services will be conducted Thursday at 10:00 a.m. at St. Peter's Episcopal Church with The Rev. Thomas Wilson and The Rev. Richard Zalesak officiating. Burial will follow in Webster Cemetery in Cross Bridges. The family will visit with friends Wednesday from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Oakes & Nichols and after 9:00 a.m. Thursday in St. Peter's Parish Hall. Notes of sympathy may be sent to www.oakesandnichols.com. The family suggests memorials to St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 311 West 7th Street, Columbia 38401 or James K. Polk Association, 303 West 7th Street, Columbia 38401. A descendant of pioneer Maury County settlers, she was born January 25, 1912 in the Cross Bridges Community, the daughter of the late Thomas Crosby Webster, Sr. and Mary Porter Black Webster. She was a 1929 graduate of the Columbia Female Institute and attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. As a young lady, she was a passionate equestrienne and worked for the Tennessee Farm Bureau during a time when there were only three employees. She was married in 1940 to Dr. Campbell Miller Sowell, Sr. who preceded her in death February 2, 1989. She remained profoundly interested in the early history of Cross Bridges and Maury County throughout her life and played a prominent role in establishing the Webster Family reunion. Mrs. Sowell was a communicant of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, member of the James K. Polk Association, and Maury County Chapter, APTA. She was an avid reader, loved to play bridge, and usually won the prize. Survivors include her sons, Dr. Campbell M. Sowell Jr. and wife, Lillie of Columbia, Dr. Jonathan W. Sowell and wife, Mary of Knoxville; grandchildren, Campbell M. "Tripp" Sowell, III of Nashville, Jonathan Webster "Web" Sowell, Jr. of Knoxville, Carrie Elizabeth Sowell of Knoxville, Mark Baker, and Lajuana Baker of Columbia; great-grandchldren, Kaelyn Paige Wilson and Lillie Kathryn Baker; niece, Susan Webster Bailey of Cross Bridges; and nephew, Thomas Crosby Webster, III and wife, Marilyn of Columbia; great-niece, Sarah Webster Bailey Robert; great-nephews, Thomas C. Webster, IV, and Jonathan S. Webster. In addition to Dr. Sowell, she was preceded in death by her brother, Thomas Crosby Webster, Jr. and his wife, Sue Chadwell Webster and a great-nephew, Joshua Bailey, all of Cross Bridges. Serving as active pallbearers are Thomas Napier Gordon, William Bradshaw Gordon, Thomas C. Webster, III, Rick Webster, Mike Webster, Dr. Robert Ikard, William N. "Bill" Coppedge, and Ray Vineyard. Honorary pallbearers include Thomas C. Webster, IV, Jonathan Sharp Webster, Dr. Cary Pulliam, Dr. Tom Dake, Dr. Robert Thompson, Gilbert Orr, Bob Duncan, Dennis Anderson, Dr. William Haywood, and George Owen. The Sowell family wishes to thank the personnel of Little Creek Sanitarium for the loving care they provided in her last few years.