Roberta Ashley Spence Rainwater Meyers

Roberta Ashley Spence Rainwater Meyers, age 91, of Sevierville, died Wednesday, November 10, 2004, at her home. She was a lifelong member of First Red Bank Baptist Church where she was active and loved to meet new members and visitors. Her first job was setting type for the Sevier Record Republican at the age of 17. She eventually worked at local knitting mills in Knoxville and North Carolina before attending cosmetology school in Knoxville to become a beautician. Around 1947 she opened her own shop on Bruce Street in Sevierville, Robbie’s Hair Design, where she worked until 1975. She was involved with several square dance organizations, and she loved to fish, camp, and eventually learned to golf from her second husband Mr. J. Lonnie Meyers. In her later years, she found another hobby in painting at the Senior Citizens Center. She was preceded in death by her father, Robert Ashley Spence and stepmother Carrie Spence, mother Francis Helton Spence McCarter and stepfather Mitch McCarter, brothers Curtis Spence and J. B. McCarter, sisters Louise McCarter Vest and Peggy McCarter Leatherwood, and step-sisters Ina Allen and Anna Smelcer. Survivors: Her only child: Charles Rainwater and his wife of 22 years, Judy Rainwater, both of Sevierville Grandchildren: David Charles Rainwater and Jamie Suzanne Rainwater, both of Sevierville Step-grandchildren: Craig and Kelly Cantrell, Mike and Chrissy White, and Tim and Karen Graham, all of Knoxville Ten step-great-grandchildren Sister: Ruth McCarter Holloway of Knoxville Step-sister: Ona McCarter Blankenship of Sevierville Several nieces and nephews and first cousins Funeral service 7 PM Thursday in the West Chapel of Atchley Funeral Home with Rev. Bill Merritt and Preston Joslin officiating. Family and friends will meet 11 AM Friday in Alder Branch Cemetery for graveside service and interment. The family will receive friends 5-7 PM Thursday at Atchley Funeral Home, Sevierville. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to First Red Bank Baptist Church Building Fund, 2039 Red Bank Road, Sevierville, TN, 37876. (www.atchleyfuneralhome.com)