By Ralphine Major

ralphine3@yahoo.com

They were alumni from the same high school and siblings from the Mynatt family.  They passed away only days apart.  Carol Ann Mynatt Fortner and Randall Lee Mynatt’s family have long been a part of the Halls Community.  Their parents, Cecil Welch Mynatt and the late Emerson Lee Mynatt, also graduated from Halls High School.  Our mother and Emerson were classmates at Halls; our father and Emerson were first cousins.  Through Emerson is how our parents met.

At 69, Carol was the oldest of the four Mynatt children.  She worked 30 years at Halls Elementary School and also taught a children’s Sunday School class at her church.

Carol and I grew up during the days when families visited often.  It was always a fun time to come home with some of her hand-me-downs since my mother handmade most of my clothes.  Carol quilted and made special keepsake quilts for her nieces and nephews at graduation.  I recall her parents saying that she put the finishing stitches on one quilt on their way to an out-of-town graduation.  Carol was a loyal Focus reader and recently told me exactly where she picked up her weekly paper.

Randy was only 59.  I remember how excited our family was when we learned he had received his doctorate from The University of Tennessee.  A few years ago, Randy appeared with his father and brother in my story “Another Generation of Mynatt Brothers.”

Not long before he left Knoxville to begin his outstanding career in Louisiana, I saw Randy at a wedding.  When I heard about his passing, I went through years of photos before I found the one shown here that was taken at his friend’s wedding that day.  Learning about Randy’s beloved dog Murphy reminded me of when I got my very first dog.  I named her Lollipop.  She came from the Mynatt family farm.

Words of Faith: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11 (KJV).