Tom and Myrtle Derrie only had five of eleven children who reached adulthood. There were four sisters and one brother. I’ve never seen a picture with all of them together. The picture below from 1963 only shows the sisters who are youngest from left to right: Veatta, Helen, Alma, Lillie. Brother Bud was not present at the small reunion in Knoxville. Lillie and Alma were born in Greene County, TN while Helen, Veatta and Bud were born in Campbell County.
The family never lived on a farm, and always lived in or close to town. Due to poverty living conditions when they were young, it cannot be said that the children grew up in a normal household. They had few possessions, and none of today’s conveniences. With money for daily necessities very scarce, attending school was difficult and attending church almost never. There’s even a story that the oldest sister, Lillie, had to share a single dress with her mother when she went to school. Despite the hardships, the offspring stood together to weather their situation. However, all left home as early as possible to seek better lives. Unfortunately, none of them remain alive today. Below is an introduction and short summary of how each of the brothers and sisters’ lives evolved from the oldest to the youngest, with some old pictures thrown in for fun. All facts may not be totally correct, so readers please let me know when I need to make corrections. Remember to click on the photos to enlarge them.
Lillian Mae Derrie McNutt (1905 – 1976)
Lillian, or Lillie as most people called her, was born in 1905. She was serious and determined as first-born children tend to be. She may have been the only one in her family to finish school. In fact, she taught school in Campbell County for about a year after graduating. Soon though, Lillie set off for Knoxville which is about 40 miles from LaFollette where she put herself through business school. In 1929 at age 24, she married S.F.C McNutt whose initials stood for Samuel Franklin Casenberg, the name of the doctor who delivered him as a baby. As a youngster he apparently was called Casey, but later everyone just called him Mac. He always called his wife Lillian and not Lillie. Mac was a jovial
person and liked to listen to baseball games on the radio. In 1934 they had their only child, a daughter named Shirley. Lillie was a strong Christian and always worried about the well-being and spiritual health of her siblings. In 1940, Lillie and Mac took in her youngest sister, Veatta, to live with them for about a year when she was still in school. Then in 1943, they generously took in her sister, Helen, (Mom) and me as a baby to live with them for a year to escape the living conditions back home in LaFollette. Mac worked many years for the Southern Railroad in knoxville. Lillie worked initially in business offices, but later in life she worked as a real estate agent and broker. Her reserved and proper nature probably served her well in that profession. She also taught Sunday School for about 50 years. A lifelong smoker, she died of cancer in 1976 at age 70. Mac lived a little longer and died in 1981 at age 76.
Alma Bernice Derrie Wilson (1909 – 1986)
Alma, born in 1909, married Otney Wilson in 1927. They lived their entire lives in LaFollette with many years in the beginning next door to her parents, Tom and Myrtle. Unfortunately, this led to excessive drinking in their household as well. Alma and Ott, as he was called, had seven straight sons between 1927 and 1941, but finally had a daughter in 1949. Their sons’ names were James (called JL), Phillip, Carl, Chester, John (called Nookie), Don, and Alvin. Sadly, Chester died when only 1-year-old, and Nookie was killed at age 16 when he stepped on a downed power line while walking in the woods. All the sons are now deceased. Their daughter born last was named Veatta after her Aunt so they always called her “Little Veatta”. After she was born, Alma and Ott turned their lives around. Ott got a job with the LaFollette Fire Department and over the years worked his way up to become the Fire Chief before he retired. They moved to a house in LaFollette proper, became Christians and attended church regularly. Alma was a sweet and gentle woman who was always a homemaker. She died of cancer in 1986 at age 76 and Ott died just a few months later at age 84. They are buried with most of their children in the Cumberland View Cemetery in LaFollette.
James Alvin (Bud) Derrie (1919 – 1979)
James Alvin was called Bud almost from the day he was born in 1919, but always used Alvin for official purposes. He grew up as the only boy in a poverty-stricken, dysfunctional household. As a consequence, he always took the brunt of his father’s bitter harsh ways. Bud only finished the 6th grade and finally got away from home by first joining the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCCs) and then when he was 20 years old, he enlisted in the Army in 1939 in Punta Gorda, Florida for duty in Panama. However, in 1940 he was stationed at Ft. Benning, Georgia and was soon dragged into WW II. It is believed he served mostly in an Engineer Aviation Battalion which built and repaired runways throughout the war. There is a story that he participated in the D-Day invasion of the Normandy beaches on June 6, 1944, in the second wave when the US brought vehicles ashore, some of which were to help build temporary airfields. He was released from duty after the war in 1945, and his family thought he returned as an emotionally handicapped person. It was probably what today is called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD, which affects some war veterans. He developed the same heavy drinking pattern of his father and never found a smooth road. Bud re-enlisted in 1947 for a second tour in the Army, but was always in trouble for going AWOL and was released again just prior to the Korean War. He was married to Ruth Norman in 1953, but then was divorced a short time later. In 1964 he married Cora Lloyd, a woman 23 years older than him, but she died in 1965. Bud never really found any happiness in life and eventually died in 1979 at age 60 while in the Mountain Home VA hospital in Johnson City, TN. He is buried next to his mother and father in the Jacksboro Cemetery.
Helen Louise Derrie Ayers (1923 – 2005)
Helen, born in 1923, married Ira Ayers in 1942, and they moved to Baltimore, MD in 1946. Ira worked for the B&O railroad while Helen was a homemaker and farm woman until the 1960s when she began working outside the home, first as a Licensed Practical Nurse, and then as an Industrial Therapist. She and Ira had three children: Dennis, Carol, and Annette. Helen had an outgoing personality and loved to talk to anyone. She was a loving mother and a devout Christian. She died in 2005 at age 81 and Ira died in 2003 at age 90. They are buried in the Crestlawn Memorial Cemetery in Ellicott City, MD. See more details about her life in the post dated May 9, 2011, and in a following post.
Veatta Belle Derrie Whistleman (1925 – 1998)
Veatta born in 1925, was married several times before her final marriage to Marshall Whistleman in 1958. Before that, she lived for a few years in Baltimore, MD where they apparently met. However, they were actually married in Lockport, NY where Marshall had taken a job. They later lived in Newfane, NY where they both worked at Harrison Radiators, a division of
General Motors. The location was only 25 miles from Niagara Falls. Marshall was a soft-spoken, gentle guy, while Veatta had a strong and sometimes gruff personality. They never had any children, but later in life Veatta stayed home and took in foster children raising them as her own. She loved to go play bingo and grow roses. She and Marshall both loved their little poodle dogs, and they liked to travel in their mini motorhome with the dogs beside them. A lifelong smoker, Veatta had various cancer problems starting in the 1980s and finally died from a brain tumor in 1998 at age 72. Marshall died from a heart attack in 2001 at age 76. They are buried in the Hartland Central Cemetery in Gasport, NY.