Jeanette Wilson Summitt

Jeanette Wilson Summitt, age 86, of Knoxville, passed away on Saturday, March 22, 2025, in the company of her loving family. Jeanette was born in Madisonville, TN in 1939, the oldest of five children.

After graduating from Madisonville High School, she attended Knoxville Business College, graduated with an Associates Degree in 1959 and went to work for the Tennessee Department of Human Services in Monroe County.

One night in 1967, while cruising the A&W Drive In with her friends, she met the love of her life, a handsome and charming young man from Vonore named Coy Summitt. They married a year later and moved to Knoxville shortly thereafter. In 1973 they welcomed into their lives a son, Kevin. She stepped away from her job and embraced her new role as Mom, which she found to be extremely rewarding (and almost certainly frustrating). She returned to work for the Department of Human Services in 1984 and retired in 1999 after 28 years of service. In her retirement, she and Coy traveled across the United States and enjoyed life as grandparents, spoiling their granddaughters and teaching them about the outdoors.

Jeanette loved nature, and enjoyed spending her time camping, water skiing, and hiking. She was a talented seamstress, enthusiastically mastering her sewing and needlework skills. Jeanette was also a lover of the arts, painting in various mediums, making beautiful ceramics and intricate crochet creations that still adorn her home. Her love of music inspired her son from an early age.

Jeanette was twelve years old when she accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior at Rocky Springs Baptist Church in Madisonville and was baptized in the Tellico River. She remained strong in her faith the rest of her life, living as an example of God’s love for us all through her acts of kindness, service, and empathy. Upon moving to Knoxville, she joined Mount Olive Baptist Church in South Knoxville where she served her church and her community for nearly fifty years.

In January of this year, after 56 years of marriage, she lost her beloved Coy. 56 days later, she rejoined him in glory, forever.

Jeanette was preceded in death by her parents, Ira and Faye Wilson of Madisonville and her husband, Coy D. Summitt of Knoxville. She is survived by her siblings Barbara Wilson, Charles Wilson, Don Wilson (Hilda) and Karan Wilson of Madisonville, her son Kevin D. Summitt (Melissa) of Knoxville, her granddaughters Melissa C. Summitt and Jessica L. Summitt of Nashville, step grandchildren Chloe Aiken and Samuel Aiken of Knoxville, and several beloved in-laws, cousins, nieces and nephews.

The family will receive friends from 5-7pm on Monday, March 31, 2025 at the Berry’s Funeral Home in South Knoxville. A service will follow with Pastor Kirby Ownby officiating. Interment ceremony will be held at the East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery, 2200 E Governor John Sevier Highway on Tuesday, April 1 at 12:30pm.