Naomi Trent Burnett

Nellie Naomi Trent Burnett, age 96 of South Knoxville passed away March 16, 2024, at the home of her son and daughter-in-law in Heiskell, Tennessee. Naomi was born August 9, 1927, to Glenford Campbell Trent and Bertha Jane (Tillett) Trent of Knoxville, Tennessee. She was the fifth child of eight children. Naomi attended and graduated from Old Knoxville High School in 1945. After graduation she began working at Standard Knitting Mills as a floor supervisor and later moved into the front office, scheduling production for the mill.

She worked for the Standard from 1945 until it’s closing in 1988. The best thing to come out of the Standard was she met and married; the love of her life, James Burnett. They had their first date on May 31, 1958, and married on August 16, 1958. They celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in August of 2023 prior to his passing on August 27, 2023.

Naomi made sure to make the most of her 96 years on earth; from caring for family, friends and church members who had no one to care for them. She found a way to care for others and make them feel special/loved, with a visit, or a phone call. Sometimes it seemed like the phone was attached to her hand as much as she liked to stay connected with everyone (and this was before cell phones). She used to get in trouble in school for talking all the time so naturally it is a trait she carried through her life and passed on to her family. Not only did she pass on the talking to her family, she passed on the importance of family, loving life and working hard (sometimes doing things the hard way but getting it done right).

She made sure her family felt loved; especially on Saturday mornings even if she did not attend Saturdays on the Farm, with her fresh hand squeezed orange juice (something she started when Dennis was 6 months old) and sausage/egg biscuits. Through the years these items had to be labeled with names so that everyone got their share. She started this when she found out some were not getting their fair share (mainly the orange juice).

She enjoyed passing on her abundance of wisdom whenever she could. Around the age of seventy-eight she was teaching/showing her grandchildren how to stand on their head, something she did time and time again. She was full of life and allowed her grandchildren to enjoy and experience it. From filling her basement full of refrigerator boxes to make houses out of, to taking those boxes and sliding down the steps until they busted out the bottom. There was no end to the fun and no limit as long as no one ended up in the hospital. Speaking of the hospital, that is where a tricycle ride sent her one afternoon, when she hopped on the back of it to help guide it down the hill/driveway. Needless to say, the tricycle made it to the bottom fine and Mamaw got a new hip!

She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Dennis and Renee’ (Glandon) Burnett of Heiskell, TN; grandchildren, Tiffany Michelle (Burnett) Phillips and husband (Justin), Todd Alan Burnett and fiancé Codi Danielle Hatmaker; great grandchild, Landon Cade Burnett Daniels and several nieces and nephews.

Naomi is preceded in death by loving husband, James Alvin Burnett; parents, Glenford Campbell Trent and Bertha Jane (Tillett) Trent; sisters, Margaret Ellen Trent Bell, Bertha Trucilla Trent Bunch, Jennie Louise Trent Ogle, Mary Laura Mathel Trent Johnson and Evelyn Ruth Trent Grove; brothers, Glenford Campbell Trent Jr. and Earl Franklin Trent.

The family would like to thank the staff of Amedisys Home Health of Oak Ridge and Amedisys Hospice for their care for Naomi.

The family will receive friends on March 20, 2024, between the hours of 1:00 PM until 3:00 PM in the Magnolia Chapel at Berry Highland South Funeral Home. A funeral service will immediately follow in the Chapel at 3:00 PM, officiated by Pastor Denny Ford.