Ruth Conley Curlee

Ruth Conley Curlee passed away August 20, 2024, after a short illness, with her family at her side. After surviving a stroke in 2020, she regained her health and enjoyed life fully until her heart finally could beat no longer.

Mrs. Curlee is survived by her daughter, Lu Ann Curlee, and granddaughter Cecil RuthAnn Curlee of Woodbury, and daughter Eva (Chris) Doyle of Chattanooga, Tennessee. She was preceded in death by her grandparents: Ida Cleara Vassar and James Benson Cooper and Savannia Savennia Simmons Conley and Thomas Finley Conley; parents Dessie Eva Vassar Conley and Pharis Macon Conley; and husband Frank Lewis Curlee, CPA. Mrs. Curlee was a member of the church of Christ.

Born May 9, 1932, in the Burt community during a home birth attended by Dr. J. F. Adams, Ruth lived through interesting times. She never had a hot breakfast after her mother, a teacher in the Cannon County school system for 30 years, returned to teaching when Ruth was five. Her mother said she was not going to make a fire at home and then make another at school. There was no day care at that time, so her mother returned to work as soon as Ruth was able to sit still at school. By starting school so early, Ruth was graduated from Woodbury Central High School at sixteen. Ruth lived without running water or electricity until her father was elected sheriff of Cannon County and the family moved to the jail where her mother cooked for the prisoners. Deciding she'd rather teach than cook, Ruth's mother returned to teaching and paid someone else to feed the prisoners. Living in town while attending Woodbury Central High School, Ruth walked from the jail on the square down College Street to the high school every day.

Ruth met her future husband, Frank, while carpooling to MTSU with his brother, Bob Curlee. They married on August 25, 1950 after first driving to Kentucky, where she and Frank learned she was too young to elope without her parents' permission, and then down to Georgia, where they were finally able to marry in Rossville without permission, which Pharis Conley refused to give. They honeymooned in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park where Ruth tried unsuccessfully to cook breakfast on a camp fire in the rain. The marriage survived but cooking never became one of Ruth's strong suits. After Frank received his degree from MTSU the couple moved to Knoxville, so Frank could attend the University of Tennessee and work on his Masters which he never finished. Ruth did, however, receive her degree in Business Administration and eventually became the executive secretary to the president of Riches in Knoxville.

After Frank became a certified public accountant the couple opened a small accounting practice in Knoxville and raised their two daughters there. In 1964, after the death of Ruth's father, Pharis Conley, who died in office as the first General Sessions Judge of Cannon County, her mother, Dessie, moved to Knoxville and lived with the family until her death in 1990. Ruth loved UT football and said the team was never any good after Johnny Majors left. If it looked as if the team was going to lose at half-time she would often take to her bed for the balance of the game, unable to face their defeat. Ruth developed a love for duplicate bridge during college and joined the American Contract Bridge League eventually achieving the status of Life Master.

When the demands of motherhood grew less and she retired from working, Ruth took up hand building pottery with her mother and enrolled in painting classes. She built flowerpots and bowls and painted with oils and watercolors creating many beautiful paintings of flowers and country scenes for her family to display. After Frank died in 1992 (in the middle of tax season), Ruth decided to move back to Cannon County with her daughter, Lu Ann. They bought a house on College Street from Carl and Opal Jones and, after extensive remodeling by the Odom Brothers, moved into their new home in June of 1993.

Ruth was thrilled to return to Cannon County and often mentioned how her heart lifted when she returned home after being away. While enjoying her retirement in Woodbury she indulged her love of shopping at garage sales, Goodwill and other second-hand stores. Eventually she acquired enough "inventory" to open her own booth at the Old Feed Store. She closed her business shortly after the birth of her granddaughter when she no longer had time to search for inventory and preferred to enjoy the delights of being a grandmother. Her shopping skills were then used to provide all manner of clothing and toys for her pampered only grandchild.

She also collected Hull and McCoy pottery and depression glass and was an excellent hobby gardener. She grew both flowers and vegetables as long as she was able to turn over the soil and pull up the weeds. Every year she wanted to have a crop of her favorites: okra and tomatoes. There was always a windowsill in her house with a row of African violets blooming in the sun. She had great sense of humor and a quick wit. When one of her daughters asked why their father was so strange, Ruth replied, "How should I know? You're related to him."

After the example of her parents Ruth worked hard all her life as well. In an era when many women stayed at home with their families, Ruth was a supporting partner in an accounting practice doing the typing and office management for her husband's business. She enjoyed reading in her spare time and almost every Sunday afternoon was spent in the Knox County Library with her daughters and mother. But by far her greatest pleasure was driving a car. As a child she thought owning a car was completely beyond the realm of possibility. Owning her own car meant she'd made it, and her mother bribed her to finish college by promising a car when she received her diploma. She never shared a car with her husband and always had her own wheels. She and Frank bought one of the first Corvettes and took it to New Orleans for vacation early in their marriage. "We drove to New Orleans at 100 miles an hour," Ruth said when she told the tale. "How could you let Daddy drive that fast?" Lu Ann asked. "What makes you think he was driving," came the reply with a sly smile. After suffering a stroke in 2020, she eventually became unable to drive outside Woodbury, but she continued driving to Piggly Wiggly and the library. She finally gave up her keys, a few months before her death, after she backed into the neighbor's carport.

Ruth was a woman who quietly did what ever she pleased however she pleased to do it. She hid a will of iron and great intelligence behind the gentle smile and soft spoken demeaner of a Southern woman. She certainly had her problems and difficulties in life but if she could get behind the wheel of her car and drive away, she was doing all right. She's driving heaven's highway now and if there's a speed limit, she's probably ignoring it. Be at peace, Mama. You'll be in our hearts forever.

Graveside services will be 2:00 P.M. Friday, September 6, 2024 at Cherry Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Friends of the Library In Memory of Ruth Curlee.

Woodbury Funeral Home, 615-563-2311 or to leave condolences for her family, please visit www.woodburyfuneralhome.net