Lillian Henry

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Lillian Henry spent her entire working life in service to others. For 40 years or more she worked as a sales clerk and cashier at the F.W. Woolworth store in downtown Elizabethton. She began working at the store when she was fresh out of high school and worked there until it closed in the 1980s.

“Didden,” as she was known to family and friends, later worked at Jack’s Restaurant in Hampton as a cashier. She was known as a hardworking and kind-hearted person, who served her employers and the public well. Through working with the public, she made lots of friends and was known to many.

“She was friendly, kind, and lots of fun. She always met you with a smile when you went into the store and asked, ‘How can we help you today?’” said the person who sent an email asking that we consider Lillian for A Life Lived story.

She was one of four children of Allen and Lizzie Henry and lived her entire life in the Sims Hill community.

Lillian died July 4 at the age of 91 after a brief illness.

Her brother, Mack, described Lillian as a “very giving person.”

“She was a simple person who never wanted a lot, but gave of herself to help others. She was a long-time member of Sims Hill Christian. That was where she attended church all her life. She was pianist for over 60 years,” he said.

In fact, she was at church and was making her way to the piano when she fell and broke a hip. Several days later she died.

Mack noted that Lillian learned to play the piano from a former teacher, the late Frank Merritt.

Lillian was a graduate of Hampton High School and was a Bulldog fan all her life.

In later years, she was a fan of Mack’s children, Macy and Parker. Macy played basketball at Milligan College. Parker also played ball and graduated from Milligan and this upcoming year will be a coach at Jonesborough Middle School.

“When she didn’t go to their games, she listened to them on radio and kept her own stats,” shared Mack about Lillian.

In addition to Macy and Parker, she had two other nephews, Darrin and Steve Kyviakidis, children of her sister, Pearl.

Lillian enjoyed making patchwork quilts and had “lots of them,” said Mack. She also enjoyed word search books.

“Every night she read her Bible – at least two chapters. She had read the Bible through numerous times,” shared her sister-in-law, Linda.

Like her lifestyle, Lillian’s meals were simple. Her favorite was soup beans, fried potatoes and cornbread. And when she was younger and abler, she grew a vegetable garden.

In addition to her work, Lillian took care of her mother during the last years of her life.

In addition to her family, Lillian leaves behind a lifelong friend and faithful companion, Dennis “Black” Guinn. “They were very faithful to each other and took good care of each other,” said Linda.

She also noted that Lillian was “a happy-go-lucky person who always wore a smile.”

Lillian was probably the most carefree, happy person you would ever meet in this life. It’s not that she didn’t have cares, worries and heartaches—she did—but she knew to take them to the Lord and leave them there.

Lillian was laid to rest July 8 in the Sims Family Cemetery near her home.