Lewis Teeple

Lewis Franklin Teeple (age 91) of Sparta, Tennessee, passed away on March 25, 2013 at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville. He was the son of the late James Porter and Nancy Teeple of Sparta.

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Myla Ruth Hutson Teeple, his four sons, Jim (wife Virginia), Roger Hutson (wife Abbie), Franklin (partner Emily Griffith), and Paul Lewis Teeple (wife Gabriela), his four grandsons, James Gabriel (wife Donna), Luke Stuart (wife Amanda), Joshua Carson, and Lewis Felipe Teeple, and his two great grandsons, Samuel Luke and James Ford Teeple. He is also survived by one brother, James Teeple, and five sisters, Edwina Bilbrey, Leta Burns, Reba Nell Russow, Wilma Jean Bailey and Mary Ruth Merritt. Six siblings preceded his death, brothers Sherman, Carl and Ray Donald Teeple, along with his sisters Ruby Vinson, Maggie Cantrell and Ava Teeple.

Mr. Teeple lived a life of service and was an active member of the Sparta and White County community. He was a member of the Findlay Church of Christ and a former farmer, small business owner and White County Veterans Service Officer. During the Great Depression he served in the Civilian Conservation Corps. Like many others from White County, he volunteered for service during World War II where he was assigned to the US Coast Guard. He helped found the Sparta-White County Rescue Squad and served as a member of the White County Board of Education for 22 years. He was a member of the American Legion. In his later years, Mr. Teeple was known for his large gardens and his gifts of produce to anyone he met.

His family will receive visitors at the Findlay Church of Christ in Sparta, Tennessee on Thursday, March 28 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Funeral services will be conducted at the church on Friday, March 29 at 1:00 p.m., followed by burial at the Old Zion Cemetery.

If persons wish to make donations in lieu of flowers, they are encourged to give to charities supporing disabled veterans.