Tommie Jean Jenkins

Tommie Jean Pruett was born May 16, 1933. She was the eighth of nine children born to Elijah and Birtha Pruett of Jackson County, Tennessee. A late in life baby, she was toted around by her older siblings, especially Rosalyn who was like a second mother to her. She was raised with her younger brother Jack in Gainsboro, Tennessee on a farm where they lived off their land growing tobacco as a cash crop, with a huge garden, every farm animal and a field of cattle. It was a simple life in the holler of Gainsboro.

Granny was a lifelong member of the Church of Christ where she attended regularly until her health kept her from going anymore. She was baptized at age fifteen in the Caney Fork River and stood firm in her faith all her life as a member in Joelton, Goodlettsville and Hendersonville.

At age 18, she moved to Nashville to start a career for the state of Tennessee where she worked for 49 years for the Department of Safety.

She met the love of her life, Sammy Lee Jenkins, on a blind date in 1958 when he took her to Tony Kelly’s for dinner. That night, he told her he was going to marry her. And he did. They wed on February 27, 1960 and were together until his death in October, 2010. They settled in East Nashville, right down the street from Sweet Mama and Sammy’s sisters Faye, Betty, Judy and Libby.

Tommie Jean was the definition of a great wife: she cooked her husband breakfast and dinner daily, and kept a spotless home. Little Wade said it best, “Granny deserves a special place in heaven for putting up with his old awnry butt.”

In 1961, Tommie Jean had her one and only surprise baby girl, Gina Lee. Tommie Jean got a new title: Mama. Tommie and Sammie spent a decade in East Nashville raising their baby girl and then settled in Joelton, Tennessee where they resided for over thirty years on their three acres with a field full of horses and coon dogs. Gina was the apple of her eye and she dolled her up to take her to church or the grocery store or anywhere. Even though Gina was a daddy’s girl, she loved her momma.

Gina blessed her mama with a new title in 1982: Granny. The joy of Tommie’s life was her two grandsons, Little Wade and Blake. She did without many times to ensure they had their fancy Nike’s and new clothes, or new toys and videogames. She would have given them anything their hearts desired.

When Little Wade was a toddler, he would get Granny to come get him in Pa’s big ol, big ol big truck. Blake and Wade loved going to Granny and Pa’s, coon hunting with Pa, and spending the night. Both boys would snuggle up in bed with Granny with full bellies of whatever they wanted to eat. She also loved her bonus grandchildren, Brandon, Chase and Chasity who came into her life when Gina married her son-in-law Wade. There was no title she wore prouder than Granny.

When she thought she couldn’t love her grandsons more, they blessed her with the title, great Granny or Ninnie. She loved watching Nick, Abbi and Parker play and grow and she spoiled them a tad more than her grandsons. Abbigayle and Granny had a special relationship. They both loved to aggravate the snot out of each other but Granny also loved Abbi doing her hair, painting her nails, or baking her something sweet. She also idolized her granddogs, Freckles and Duke Suttle.

For the past eight years, Granny had a sidekick, adoptive daughter and caretaker named Charlotte. Charlotte was a blessing to our family and helped care for Granny with grace and love until the end. She stayed with Granny when Gina traveled and sat with her when Gina worked.

She spent the last eight months of her life living in memory care aka the dorms at college. She had a great time with her best friends there and loved her roommate Ms. Carol who called her Wilma.

Tommie Jean never learned to drive. She never drank a drop of alcohol or smoked. Her chicken salad recipe could make millions and the meringue on her chocolate pie stood tall and perfect. She kept up with the Newmans and the Abbotts on the Young and the Restless and the Foresters on the Bold and the Beauty. Her favorite place to shop was JCPenney. She dreamed of going to Hawaii but would not get on a plane and was scared of water. She was a nosy neighbor and loved to speculate about what they were up to. She was a housekeeper and kept a dishrag in her hand most of the time. Granny was adamant that she was not to be buried in a dress because people do not sleep in dress clothes. Gina put her in a beautiful floral gown and robe so she can rest peacefully.

Tommie Jean Jenkins died peacefully in her sleep on February 9, 2023. She was preceded in death by her husband of almost 63 years, Sammy, as well as her parents and all of her siblings.

She is survived by her daughter, Gina, and son-in-law Wade, as well as her two grandsons, Wade Suttle, and Blake Suttle as well as her great grandchildren, Nick, Abbi and Parker and her three favorite puppy boys, Freckles, Duke and Peyton.

Tommie Jean was a special woman, loved by many and will be missed.

A graveside service for Tommie will be held Monday, February 13, 2023 at 2:00 PM at 0715 - Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens, 1150 South Dickerson Road, Goodlettsville, AA 37072.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.ForestLawnFuneral-Goodlettsville.com for the Jenkins family.