Mary Lee Cox Wilkes

Mary Lee Cox Wilkes, age 84 of Gallatin, TN, departed this life and slipped into the arms of her Lord on November 24, 2024 at her home surrounded by her loved ones. Mary Lee was born In Prescott, Arkansas on August 25,1940. 

As a 4 year old girl her family moved to Gallatin, TN where she lived for the remainder of her life. Upon first arriving in Gallatin her family lived above a storefront on the Square where her father and Uncles had a Men’s Clothing Store. This arrangement made the Gallatin Square her playground and the merchants her friends. Ultimately, this early exposure to business may have helped fuel her later love for retail businesses and entrepreneurial ventures.

First Baptist Church is where Mary Lee accepted Jesus into her life and it remained her church home for life, so it seems fitting that we celebrate her life in her spiritual home as we bid her farewell as she moves to her eternal home.

A life lived to the fullest and packed with much is so hard to boil into a few words but here are a few — Daughter, Christian, Wife, Mother, MIL, GG, Aunt, Friend, Decorator, Teacher, Shopkeeper, Entrepreneur, Civic Leader, Gardener, Artist, Clown, Clogger, Reader, Teetotaler, Life of the Party, Lover of Jesus, Lover of People, and Lover of Life.

Mary Lee loved the Lord, Family, Community and Country. She was known for her joy in life and love of people. She was happiest when getting to visit with family, friends or acquaintances that would soon be friends. She was the heart of our family, and her absence will leave a huge void. She lived each day to the fullest and was known to give her all to any endeavor whether business, civic or artistic. She did not abide setbacks, she took each obstacle as a small inconvenience and preserved until she found a move past to reach her objective. This momentum was aided by the love of her life, Joe Miller Wilkes, who always gave his unconditional support and had her back. He would follow her into whatever she set her sights on and be in the background getting things done. They were too halves of the same coin and complemented each other perfectly. Although they married young and against her father’s wishes they must have recognized that they were each other’s soulmate in every way. A marriage and union that illustrated what love, respect, friendship, fun and hard work look like for all to witness.

Mary Lee is survived by her children, Lee Randolph Wilkes and Stephany Jo Wilkes, son-in-law David B. Linton, great-grandchildren Brooke Elaine Linton Parlette (husband Ryan Parlette, children Brayden, Chase, Sophia & Oaklynn) and Joseph “Joey” David Linton, and Kimberly Hoderfield-Linton (Mother of Brooke & Joey), brother James “Jim” Lee Cox, sister-in-law Virginia Wilkes Douglass, and Dear friend Virgil Hood. Additionally, many beloved nieces and nephews, and great nieces and nephews. plus, many friends. She was preceded in death, by her beloved husband of 62 years, Joe Miller Wilkes (2020), her parents James Lee Cox and Mary Alice Buie Cox, siblings Connie Cox Pearson (Robert) and Yvonne Cox Russell (Edward “Kirby”).

Please join us as we celebrate a Woman of Substance, our mother, Mary Lee Cox Wilkes at First Baptist Church, Gallatin, TN on Wednesday, November 27, 2024 at 12:00 P.M. Visitation with the family will be from 10:00 A.M. until 12:00 P.M. Interment will follow in historic Gallatin City Cemetery in the Wilkes Family Plot.

Rest Well Mom, it was a blessing to be your children, you will be greatly missed, till we meet again. 

Arrangements Entrusted to: Sumner Funeral & Cremation, Gallatin (615) 452-9059 www.sumnerfuneral.com