Bertha Stimson Obituary
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Bertha Lee Lawrence Stimson was born March 19, 1926, in Paris, Tennessee to Archie Bryan Lawrence and Gracie Alice Enoch Lawrence. She died on February 20, 2025. When she was 14, she moved with her family to Louisville, Kentucky where she graduated from Louisville Girls High School and attended the University of Louisville.
In 1946 Bertha married James Franklin Chumley and moved to Chattanooga, TN, and then a few years later to Knoxville, TN. In 1956 they moved to Decatur, AL to join the emerging space program working on rocket engines with Werner von Braun at Redstone Arsenal. In the 1950s, Bertha and James were blessed with four daughters, Diana, Jane, Pat, and Terry. In addition to actively caring for her family, Bertha was a prolific artist of watercolor and oil paintings, a happy and creative gardener, an active member of Oak Park Baptist Church, an avid and scholarly genealogist, and an enthusiastic world traveler. Her husband James Chumley died in 1989. In 1998, Bertha married Jesse LeRoy Stimson of Decatur, AL. They enjoyed 9 wonderful years together, with many cruises in all parts of the world including China, Russia, Australia, Alaska, and South America, before his death at 98 in 2008. In her 53 years living in Decatur, Bertha enjoyed numerous beloved and dear friendships. In 2009, Bertha moved to Atlanta, GA, to the Kings Bridge Retirement Community, where she continued to enjoy travel including a senior university trip to Iceland and the Baltic Sea region.
Bertha is survived by her four daughters, Diana Chumley Tweed of Harriman, TN, Jane Chumley Ammons (Ricky) of Atlanta, GA, Patricia Chumley Suggs (Mill) of North Augusta, SC, and Teresa Louise Klima of Alexandria, VA; eight grandchildren, Amy Claborn Kuntzman (Erich), Joseph Andy Claborn, Jr. (Robin), James Ammons (Jessica), Jesse Ammons(Kelly), Victoria Lee Suggs Knight, Annabelle Jessica Suggs, Milledge Jesse Suggs III (Brooke), and William Klima; eleven great-grandchildren; two nieces, Vickie Lawrence and Lisa Burnside (Tim) and a nephew, Woody Lawrence (Vickie); several cousins including those in the Paris, TN area; stepson Joseph Stimson (Lee) of Alexander City, AL, and stepdaughter Anne Stimson Durham (Larry) of Birmingham, AL; step-grandchildren Alan C. Stimson (Tammy), Jennifer Stimson, Margaret D. Anderson (Todd), and Bradley F. Durham; and 8 step-greatgrandchildren.
No services are planned. Family and friends plan to gather at McEvoy Funeral Home in Paris, TN, for visitation at noon on Saturday, March 15, 2025, and then at 1 pm will travel together for her burial in Green Plains Cemetery in Hazel, Kentucky.
Visitation
McEvoy Funeral Home
Saturday, March 15, 2025
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
507 West Washington Street
Paris, TN 38242 To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Bertha, please visit our Tree Store.
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