Mary Katherine (Cox) Deavours

Mary Katherine (Cox) Deavours, born December 20, 1933 and went to be with the Lord on April 28, 2019. 

Preceded in death by parents Eli and Clementine Cox, beloved husband William Lanier Deavours, and several brothers and one sister. 

Survived by four children, William L. (Billy) Deavours, Dennis and Cora (Myers) Deavours, Billy and Kathy (Deavours) Sampieri, and David and Jennifer (Rosa) Deavours. Seven grandchildren, and ten great grandchildren, and a host of other special family and friends. 

Mary was more than a caregiver, but rather a second mother to many children in the small, sweet town of LaFollette, TN. A pioneer in the art of in-home childcare, she began her business partnered with her close friend Ms. Edna Engle with the advent of The Gingerbread House. Mary later expanded her efforts to grow her own childcare vision with Mrs. D’s Happy House, where she created an atmosphere of education, love and friendship that spanned generations. 

She always had a way of making each person she knew feel so incredibly special, from baking cookies and divinity for neighbors at Christmas, making her children’s clothing, and her creation of intricate ceramics that grace many dinner tables in our community even today. Every Easter bunny or personalized egg, each nativity scene or Halloween pumpkins painted the perfect shade of orange, you knew you were loved and valued. Mary never left the house without her signature red lipstick, her hallmark color; and her cardinals, Fred and Freda, were ever present in her yard, no matter where she resided. 

To know Mary Deavours was to be in the presence of a person that put all others above herself. A true lady who worked hard and was a genuine soul. In the latter years of her life, she became a champion of female friendships, taking time to visit ladies in the nursing home, going to dinner with loved ones, and inviting friends over for a simple cup of coffee and her incomparable chocolate pie. She never wasted a single moment. 

Services at Martin Wilson Funeral Home to honor Mary will be Tuesday, April 30th, receiving friends from 6-8pm and funeral to follow at 8pm.  Interment will be Wednesday, May 1st at 11am at Campbell Memorial Gardens. 

Special thanks to LaFollette Medical Center and especially those who loved and cared for her at Cumberland Village in the final years of her life. 

Mary’s guestbook may be viewed at martinwilsonfuneralhome.com

The family has entrusted the care of Mary Katherine Deavours to Martin Wilson Funeral Home “Where families matter most”

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