Billy Verble

Funeral services with military honors for Billy Morris Verble, age 88, of Cookeville, will be at 3 p.m. Sunday January 26 at the Cookeville Chapel of Hooper Huddleston and Horner Funeral Home. Pastor Albert Willis will officiate. His family will receive friends Sunday from 1 p.m. until service time. Billy passed away January 18, 2020, at NHC of Cookeville after a brief and sudden illness. Born in Rickman, TN, in 1931, he grew up in the Sulphur Community before moving to Detroit for a career in the growing manufacturing business. A retired auto and steel industry worker, he spent 41 years in Michigan before returning to Cookeville in 1992 where he continued working in numerous endeavors until 2010. Billy was a man of deep faith and a veteran having served as a U.S. Army corporal. He loved sports, especially baseball, football, car racing, and horse racing. His favorite baseball team was the Cincinnati Reds but he also rooted for the Detroit Tigers and the NY Yankees. He loved music, particularly country and bluegrass, and enjoyed attending live shows. An ardent gardener, he continued to set out tomato plants every year including this past spring. He is preceded in death by his parents Ben Wheeler and Stella Verble; three brothers, Bernard, Kenneth, and James; and a sister who died in infancy. He is survived by daughters Virginia Sircy of Cookeville and Carol Verble of New York City; son-in-law Ken Sircy of Cookeville; and former spouse of 44 years Betty Verble of Algood. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make donations in his memory to the Cookeville Animal Shelter or to your favorite charity. Hooper Huddleston and Horner Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Share your thoughts and memories at www.hhhfunerals.com.