Ruth Kathleen Lane

Ruth Kathleen Lane, 98 years old, of Knoxville, Tennessee went to be with the Lord on Thursday, March 7, 2024, passing peacefully at her home. She was the widow of J.M. Lane. She was a loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and recently, great-great-grandmother. She doted on her grandchildren.

She was a master cook who somehow managed to create enormous multi-course meals with endless varieties of pies, cakes, and cookies in short order in her small kitchen, largely from food she grew and canned with her husband of 59 years. She started cooking for her family as a child when she had to stand on a stool to see over the stove, and she kept it up well into her 90's. She was as fast and talented on a sewing machine as she was in her kitchen. She always spoke about how hard her parents had to work, but that was a trait she embodied as much as them. It was a work ethic forged from a childhood spent scraping by during the Depression.

She graduated from Young High School in 1946, married J.M. Lane in 1948 and had two children, John Jr. and Anna Lane. In 1957 she started work at Levi's on the sewing line where she stayed for 15 years. She enjoyed maintaining her immaculate flower beds, which were always the finest in the community. She was an active member of the Fellowship Baptist Church, of which she had been a founding member. For many decades not a week went by that she wasn't bringing in large containers of her amazing apple pies and stack cakes for church events. For her family she was an anchor, a matriarch and a source of love and support whose loss is overwhelming.

She was preceded in passing by her parents, George and Doshia Gibson; her husband, J.M. Lane, and her son, John Lane Jr.

She is survived by her daughter, Anna Currence; grandchildren, Jim (Nichole McVeigh) Currence, John Lane lll, and Jennifer (Christopher Fry) Lane; great grandchildren, Alexis Lane, Tyson Miller, Sylas Stewart, Henry Currence-McVeigh, Lena Currence-McVeigh; great-great-grandchild, Amiri Miller; siblings, Kenneth and Faye Gibson, Mary Leslie, Charlotte and Rex Williams.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to Gail Hoskins who helped Mother for four years, and Chaplin James Yeary with Smoky Mountain hospice, whose visits were the light of mother's last few months.

Family and friends will gather at Berry Funeral Home, 3704 Chapman Highway, Knoxville, TN 37920, for a visitation on Wednesday, March 13, 2024 from 5:00pm to 6:30pm. A graveside service will be held on Thursday, March 14, 2024 at Berry Highland South cemetery, 9010 E. Simpson Rd., Knoxville, TN 37920 at 1:00pm. Online condolences and fond memories may be shared with the Lane family at www.berryfuneralhome.com