Mrs. Velma G. Sykes, 84, of Elizabethton, passed away on Monday, August 13, 2012, at Franklin Woods Community Hospital following a brief illness.
She was the daughter of the late Grady and Mary Nolia Coleman Griffin and was born in Erin, Tenn. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a sister, Nannie Dreaden.
Mrs. Sykes was a homemaker and was an expert quilter. She was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Elizabethton. She enjoyed reading and was a member of her church’s book club and worked in the church library.
Survivors include her husband, George H. Sykes, Elizabethton; a son and daughter-in-law, Steven Sykes and Beth McPherson, Carter County; five sisters, Mary Griffin, Erin, Tenn., Dorothy Walker, Clarksville, Tenn., Sue Griffin, Clarksville, Tenn., Norma Collier, Oxford, Miss., and Martha Knight, Clarksville, Tenn.; and a brother, Robert Griffin, Russellville, Ky. Several nieces and nephews also survive.
The funeral service for Mrs. Sykes will be conducted at 3 p.m. Saturday, August 18, at First Presbyterian Church in Elizabethton with Rev. John Shuck officiating. Music will be under the direction of Robert Reedy, soloist, and David Arney, organist. The family will receive friends at the church from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Saturday, prior to the service. Entombment will follow the funeral service on Saturday at Happy Valley Memorial Park, Mausoleum of Peace. Active pallbearers will be Steve Hubbard, Joe Muncey, Eddie Simerly, Dr. Michael J. Brown, Paul Teffeau and Dude LaPorte. Those who prefer memorials in lieu of flowers may make donations to Holston Habitat for Humanity, P.O. Box 5265, Kingsport, TN 37663, The Kenyan Water Project, c/o First Presbyterian Church, 119 W F Street, Elizabethton, TN 37643-3107, or to the Southern Congo Wings of the Morning (a mission that dispenses medicines by air in the Congo), or the Jamaa Letu Boys Orphanage, c/o Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church, 225 Princeton Road, Johnson City, TN 37601. On the memo line of the check write Congo Missions, in memory of Velma G. Sykes. Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.tetrickfuneralhome.com and signing the guest book or by fax to (423) 542-9499.
Tetrick Funeral Home, Elizabethton, is serving the Sykes family. Office: (423) 542-2232. Obituary Line: (423) 543-4917.
