Hugh Lee Myers
Hugh Lee Myers, age 84, of Walland, passed away on Monday, December 10, 2012, surrounded by his wife, children and grandchildren, following a long and fulfilling life. He was born in Cades Cove on April 21, 1928, to Charlie and Mae Shuler Myers, with the help of midwife, Polly Harmon, and was a great-great-grandson of John Oliver. At age 14, he found the Lord Jesus Christ in the Cades Cove Missionary Baptist Church and was a member of Morning Star Baptist Church in Maryville at the time of his death. In Cades Cove, he attended the Becky Cable School and the consolidated school adjacent to the Primitive Baptist Church. When the National Park Service took the land under eminent domain, his father used some of the proceeds to purchase a farm in Walland. Hugh moved to that farm with his sisters (Louise and Hazel) (who were working at the Aluminum Company of America) where he attended Walland School for a brief period, eventually returning to help his father on the farm in Cades Cove. He married Verna Lee Burchfield and initially farmed Cades Cove with his father (Charlie), through the later years with his children, and eventually with just his son, Rick. Through his life he watched the Cove evolve from a true farm with row crops, to cattle and hay, and eventually to only hay. As a child he walked to the Becky Sugar Cove in late fall to gather apples under the snow and leaves and he made trips to harvest chestnuts and chinquapins. Hugh owned and operated the Cades Cove riding stables for years with his family to include children and grandchildren until 2009. For 80 years, he lived and leased some part of the original family farm in Cades Cove. He loved to travel and especially enjoyed Alaska. In the weaning years following the loss of the lease, he had difficulty realizing the stables no longer belonged to him. His wish was almost daily to “go home” to Cades Cove and feed the cows, mow the hay, saddle the horses, or just drive around the loop and sit and enjoy the view at many of the old home sites which held a special memory for him. The National Park Service helped him realize some of his wishes by allowing him to be driven to locations which were not handicap accessible. One of those last trips was to the “red barn” where he had fed yearlings in the 1960s before they were shipped to market. In 2009, he enjoyed a helicopter trip over Gregory Bald, Spence and Russell Field, and Thunderhead to see them one last time. Preceded in death by parents, Charlie and Mae Shuler Myers; sister, Hazel Myers Beaty; brother, Ray; beloved grandson, Shawn Myers; son-in-law, John Johns. Survivors include wife of 64 years, Verna Lee Burchfield Myers; son and daughter-in-law, Rick and Sherry Myers; daughter, Judy Myers Johns; daughter and son-in-law, Bonnie and Ray McCampbell; son and daughter-in-law, David and Linda Myers; granddaughters, Regina Warnell, Michelle Myers, Lisa McCampbell Shelton, and Jennifer Myers Shelton; grandsons, Will McCampbell and Jeffery Clark; great-grandchildren, Savanna Warnell (with whom he shared a birthday), Madeline, Cole, and Catelyn McCampbell, and Bryce and Braxton Shelton; sister, Louise Myers Woodruff; brothers, Charles Myers and P.A. Myers. Funeral service will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, December 13, 2012, at Smith Trinity Chapel. Family and friends will assemble for interment at 2 p.m. Friday, December 14, 2012, at Grandview Cemetery. Family will receive friends from 5 until 7 p.m. Thursday, December 13, 2012, at Smith Trinity Chapel. Smith Funeral and Cremation Service, Maryville, 983-1000, http://www.SmithMaryville.com
