Mary Helen (West) Bevins

Mary Helen West Bevins was born on August 30, 1938, in Clinchmore, Tennessee, to Lula Cotton West and Benjamin West. She was the eldest of five siblings.

After graduating from Wynn High School, Mary completed a secretarial course at Knoxville Business College. She later attended the Fort Sanders Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing, where she earned her degree as a Registered Nurse. Throughout her career, she served in several positions, including private practice offices, Children's Hospital of Chattanooga, and ultimately Cobb-Duncan Clinic, where she met Jack and began both a lifelong partnership and their work together at Farragut Drugs.

Mary loved spending time with her family and was known as a strong-willed, resilient, and caring wife, mother, and grandmother. She and Jack were members of First Baptist Church of Knoxville for over 40 years. In her spare time, she was active in the Dixie Lee Garden Club, served as President of Jaycettes, and was a co-founder and officer of the Knoxville Kidney Foundation. She was also a devoted supporter of University of Tennessee football and basketball. Mary had a sweet tooth—especially for chocolate—loved "scratch-off" lottery tickets (winning far more than should have been statistically possible!), and enjoyed birdwatching. Despite their busy lives, she and Jack traveled extensively, visiting beautiful destinations including New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Switzerland, Italy, and many other memorable locales around the world.

Mary was preceded in death by her husband of 50 years, Jack G. Bevins; her father, Benjamin West; her mother, Lula Cotton West; and her brothers, J.W. West, L.B. West, and Howard West.

She is survived by her daughters, Sherrie Burr (Jonathon), Melanie Gfeller (John), and Jan Denny; her sons, Jack Bevins Jr. (Lisa) and Brian Bevins; her grandchildren, Bryan Gfeller, Kevin Gfeller, Guy Burr, Reuben Burr, Philip Denny, Liz Teston, Amanda Crockett, and Zachary Bevins; and her sister, Delores Sexton (Terry).

Visitation will be held at Berry Highland Memorial on June 18, 2026, from 12:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. A service will follow at 2:00 p.m. in the Berry Highland Memorial Chapel, with entombment immediately following at 3:00 p.m.

Family and friends are invited to Gettysvue Country Club, 9317 Linksvue Drive, Knoxville, TN 37922, for light refreshments following the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Mary's memory to the American Cancer Society at donate.cancer.org.