Claudette Riley Sisk

Claudette Riley Sisk, who passed away peacefully November 2, 2015 at the age of 74, was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and business woman whose remarkable baton-twirling and choreographic talent led to a long career of sharing her gift with thousands of young women across America. Ms. Sisk, a Knoxville native, pioneered the baton-twirling acrobatics that have become standard for marching bands across America. She was a former Miss Majorette of America and 1980 inductee into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. Ms. Sisk first appeared with the University of Tennessee Pride of the Southland Marching Band at halftime of a UT football game in 1958 when she was still in high school, and became the first scholarship majorette in UT history a year later. In her competitive years, she won virtually every state and regional twirling championship, was named All-American Twirling Queen in 1957, and the Miss Majorette of America title followed in 1959. Following her college career, Ms. Sisk became a well-known baton instructor, and for more than 25 years conducted seminars and workshops for young girls throughout the U.S. and internationally as well. She is survived by her husband of 47 years, T. Edward Sisk of Nashville; daughter Allison Jones of Nashville (Greg), and grandchildren Billy, Riley and Luke Jones; son Thomas Sisk of Washington, D.C.; and brother Roger Riley (Anne) of Knoxville. Visitation will be held at Immanuel Church, 4301 Charlotte Pike, at 11 a.m. on Saturday, November 7, 2015, with a memorial service to follow at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Immanuel Church or the Nashville Ballet