Sympathy Saturday

     Sympathy Saturday will be where I share the obituaries and my condolences for members of my family tree who passed recently.  When you get to be a certain age, you begin to read the obituaries every day.  As the days go by, you read about more and more of your friends and family members who have died.  You compare their age to your own and get a jolt. "That could have been me." 

    For genealogists, checking obituaries and visiting cemeteries is as normal as breathing. I learn so much from an obituary, i.e., maiden names, parents' names; children's' and grandchildren's' names, funeral and burial locations, sometimes even a cause of death.  I want to learn these things not for any purpose but to put it on the family tree for future generations to see and learn about the family that went before them. I admit, most of these relatives I have never met, but I think it is important to share that they were here on this Earth, and they were important.

    So I am signed up with at least three funerals homes from Swainsboro, Vidalia, and Wrightsville to get daily notices of obituaries sent to my email.  Every day, I peruse them and with the help of the family tree, figure out who is related to me and add any new information to the tree. Some weeks there are several, and some weeks there are none. We have one this week

    Please join me in offering condolences to her family and holding them in the light.

Nancy Lee Wehring Tapley
28 Mar 1950 - 13 Oct 2026
Cleveland, Bradley County, Tennessee, USA

Nancy Lee Tapley, age 76, of Cleveland, TN, passed away peacefully on October 13, 2026 surrounded by loved ones.

Nancy was born on March 28, 1950 in Kelso, Washington to John and Dorothy (Johnson) Wehring. Nancy was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and pastor’s wife who will be remembered for her faith and lifelong devotion to Christ.

She was raised by her loving grandparents, Edward and Ella Grace Johnson, on a farm where she grew up riding horses and taking care of the animals she loved. She attended Kelso Church of God where she loved to sing and play the piano.

After graduating from Kelso High School, she attended Northwest Bible College from 1968-1969 where she met and married Thomas Tapley on May 23, 1969. She served as a pastor’s wife for 50+ years with God’s calling. She was known for her warmth and kindness, putting others first, and a wonderful sense of humor as she loved to see others smile.

Nancy is survived by her daughter, Sandy; and two grandsons, Zack and Devin. She was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas, of 56 years; her son, Thomas III; her father, John Wehring; her mother, Dorothy Higbee; and stepfather, Charles Higbee.

A Remembrance of Life Celebration will be held at 1 o’clock Saturday, October 17th at Jim Rush Funeral and Cremation Services North Ocoee Street Chapel {Cleveland, Tennessee} with Bishop Jerry Elder officiating. The family will receive friends Saturday from 11am until 1pm at the funeral home. Mrs. Tapley will be laid to rest beside her husband Thomas at Old Mission Funeral Home and Cemetery, 3424 E 21st St N, Wichita, KS 67208.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Describe a Family Vacation

  From Randy (my cousin) over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  Did your family go on vacation? Describe one or more of your vacations with your birth family or with your partner/spouse and children.

2) Please share!

(Thank you to Lisa S. Gorrell for this SNGF idea.)

Here's mine:

    My mother, father, and I went on vacation every year.  That is something I am grateful for to my parents.  It instilled a love of traveling in me that has served me well over my lifetime.  I haven't been all around the world by any stretch, and there are many more places that I wish I could visit that I probably never will, but I have seen enough to have bragging rights.  The difference between mom and me and my dad is that my dad was happy going to the same place year after year.  Mom and I never want want to go to the same place twice. 

    My father loved the mountains. So every year, during the week of mine and my father's birthday (mid June), we went to Lake Lure, North Carolina.  We stayed at the Frank's Motor Inn which was directly across the street from the lake.  We would also visit Chimney Rock which is close by.  

Lake Lure, North Carolina

        Lake Lure's claim to fame is that is is where the movie Dirty Dancing was filmed. It's also in the mountains and has very beautiful scenery. 

 

  

    Yes, these are postcards I purchased there when I was a child and have kept all these years.  I mean, I am a genealogist and a scrapbooker.  

    I spent several birthdays at that Frank's Motor Inn.  My mother always made it special by having a cake and presents in the motel room.  Probably why I love birthdays so much.

    We took others with us some years.  Our friends, Colene and Robert, their niece and grandchildren; my niece and nephew, Missi and Harry, Jr.  My dad loved kids and thought the more, the merrier.  

    Now we did go other places occasionally... Six Flags in Atlanta, Looking Glass Falls, Rock City, and Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina, and Florida to visit family (not to go to the beaches!) though we did visit Keystone Heights where my dad used to water ski on the lake.  These excursions were usually just on weekends, I believe.  The week-long vacations were always at Lake Lure. 

    Those annual vacations are some of the few good memories I have of my childhood.  

    Here are some photographs we took way back then:

      

My father, my grand aunt Alice with her back turned, me, and Colene's niece, Angela,
by a mountain stream in the area.

  

Me at Chimney Rock (probably about 9 or 10)

      

Angela and me on the beach at Lake Lure

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2021 (Week 13): Music

 Amy Johnson Crow from Generations Cafe is again hosting the blog writing prompt this year called 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2021.  I'm going to try to participate more fully this year.  I like that she gives us "permission" to interpret the prompt however we wish and share it however we wish.  It doesn't have to be a blog post; it could be a family video, a letter to a child or grandchild, an e-mail, etc.  

The Theme for Week 13 (Mar 29-Apr 4) is Music.  Yes, I skipped a couple of weeks/challenges.  Part of the beauty of this series is we can join in when we can.  

My family was not the ones who gathered around the piano and sang songs together.  There was no one in my immediate family trying to make it in the music business.  I mean music was a part of our lives.  I'm not sure there is anyone on this planet who could avoid music.  

I've told the story of my paternal grandmother, Nealie Drake Tapley, who played the organ at Powell's Chapel Church in Johnson County, Georgia, and how she would drive her horse and buggy more than 8 miles each way on Sunday mornings to play there.  

My mother plays the piano.  I took five years of lessons.  It was not my favorite thing, and I do not play very well today.  I've always said that my mother tricked me.  I told her I wanted to learn to play the guitar, and she told me I had to  start with the piano, to get the basics of playing music, so to speak.  I don't know if that was true or not, but I did the piano lessons and never got to guitar lessons!

My father was a country music fan.  He passed that along to me.  I grew up in the 1970s listening to Daddy's 8 track tapes of Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn and more.  I loved Charlie Rich, Charley Pride, Brenda Lee, and Tammy Wynette.  And of course I know every word to "Harper Valley PTA" by Jeannie C. Riley.  My father's favorite song was "Satin Sheets" by Jeanne Pruett.  

My mother also instilled the love of show tunes.  We had the album of the soundtrack of My Fair Lady, and I would belt out the song "Just You Wait (Henry Higgins)" on Saturday afternoons.  

As I got older (into my teen years), of course I discovered rock 'n roll.  I loved Chicago and Foreigner.  In the 1980s, I loved the big hair bands:  Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, and Poison.  

Nowadays, I still love country music.  But I also alternate between it, rock and pop music.  I think my tastes are quite eclectic.  (Though I do not enjoy opera.)  

During my ongoing search of relatives, I did come across a cousin who was an actual country musician in Nashville!  

Clayton Claxton (1944-2020) was my 4th cousin.  We are both descended from my 3rd great-grandparents, Zachariah William Claxton (1806-1895) and Lincelia Bush (1806-1872).  His obituary stated he had been a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1999 and was a founding member of the band, Rode West.  

So I decided to do some research into his career.  I could not find much.  Here's what I did find on AirPlayDirect.com:

"Clayton Claxton, singer, songwriter, and entertainer, since he was 12 years old, loves to be in front of people. With his band, RODE WEST, they play stomp down Country music their own way, wherever they are called to play.  Impressionist, humorist, and songwriter, he has fronted shows for major Country stars for years.  Having his own #1 record in Australia and chart records in the USA, Clayton worked on the world famous GRAND OLE OPRY for 22 years.  The guys in the RODE WEST BAND have been with Clayton for over 20 years, one being his son, the lead guitar player. They do a family show that everyone can enjoy. They do some fifty's music, they do some old Cowboy harmony songs from yesteryear, and they bring the Grand Ole Opry to the stage with impersonations."

I particularly like this song:

He had an excellent, traditional voice. Here's another one that seemed to have been popular in Australia:

So this is my closest brush with an actual country music star, and I never even got to meet him!