Mrs. "Cookie" Harris remembrance

 

This note from LaVonda Harris:

My beautiful mom, Cookie Harris, gained her wings on December 5, 2025.

She retired from the City of Kingsport after 30 years of service. She was the first black City Court Clerk.   She also worked at Kingsport Press and was the first black receptionist and secretary for Dr. Daughtry.

She loved the Dallas Cowboys and her Tennessee Vols.   She was a member of Central Baptist Church, where she served in the choir and on the usher board.   She was a blessing to be around and knew how to keep people laughing.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Nathan H. Harris Jr.;  her parents, John Sr. and Ada Annette Blevins;  brothers, John Blevins Jr. and Larry Blevins;  and sisters, Shirley Carter and Thelma Whitfield.

To cherish her memory, she leaves her daughter, LaVonda Price; two grandchildren, Calvin “Tra” Price and Victoria Price; three great-grandchildren, Luka, Kaiden, and Jeremiah; three godchildren, Tyrik Hale Ta’tiona White, and Michael Moore Jr.; sister-in-law, JoAnn Osborne; adopted children, James and Kotinna Thompson, Andrew Watterson, Angela Edwards, Kelly Turner, Jeanna Racquel, and Darnell and Verdell Osborne; adopted grandchildren, Yahia Turner, Sydney and Andra Brimmer, and Thomas Edwards; special cousin, who was like a sister, Barbra Young; and many more relatives and friends.

The visitation will be on Friday, December 12, 2025 from 4 PM to 5 PM at the Central Baptist Church, 301 Carver Street, Kingsport.

The Celebration of Life will be from 5 PM to 6 PM at the church.

On Saturday, December 13, 2025, the Interment will be held from 1 PM to 2 PM at the East Tennessee Cemetery, 2630 Highway 75 (old Airport Highway), Blountville, TN.   

Care of the "Cookie" Harris family is entrusted to the R.A. Clark Funeral Chapel and Cremation Service.

Dobyns-Bennett tops Austin-East on first night of 2025 Commemoration Classic

           This story courtesy the Kingsport Times-News

MORRISTOWN — The Dobyns-Bennett boys basketball team provided a blast from the past on Friday’s first night of action at the third annual Commemoration Classic.

Dressed in the blue and yellow of the Tigers from Douglass High School, Dobyns-Bennett held on to defeat Austin-East 75-66 in the event hosted by Morristown West High School that honors historic African-American high schools in the region.

Douglass was the all-black school that operated in Kingsport from 1913-66 before being integrated into Dobyns-Bennett. Austin-East represented the former Austin High School, which was open from 1879 to 1968 before being merged with all-white East High School.

“This has been a great event,” said D-B head coach Chris Poore. “The Commemoration Classic honors schools like Douglass that deserve recognition. (Morristown West) coach (Joe) Dobyns and his staff do a great job of bringing honor to those schools. We’re really proud to be a part of it.”

After trailing 8-2 early, the Indians (6-3) led by as many as 15 points, 65-50, after Kaden Cutlip’s four-point play late in the third quarter, but the Roadrunners (4-3) carried a run into the final frame that became 14-3 and cut the lead to just four points, 68-64, with 2:39 left in the ballgame.

But T.J. Maxwell, Henry Hill and Elijah Thomas combined to 7-of-8 from the foul line down the stretch, and that was enough to let Dobyns-Bennett hang on for the victory.

“It took a lot of energy and controlling what we could control,” Maxwell said of holding on late. “A lot of stuff didn’t go our way, but we stayed composed and came out with a win. We just stayed calm and played together. We knew if we stayed together, we could get the win.”

The Indians clung to the victory shorthanded as both Levi Webb and Garrison Jones fouled out within 1:15 of each other early in the final period.

“We definitely played through some adversity,” Poore said. “We had different lineups and tough situations, but I was proud of our guys for finding a way in the end to win a close game. That’s what it comes down to, being able to win a game whether it goes your way or not.”

Maxwell led Dobyns-Bennett with 19 points, including 11 before halftime as he made three 3-pointers before the intermission, with two of those coming late in the first quarter as D-B led 21-19. He tacked on eight rebounds and a pair of assists.

Thomas (14 points, four steals, three assists) joined him in double figures, as did Cutlip and Webb, who finished with 11 points apiece. Hill and Carter Atwood accounted for eight points apiece for the Indians.

Austin-East had four double-figure scorers in Jaiden Turner (12 points), Julius Young (11), LeeKori Curry (10) and D’Andre Hundley (10). Justin Pruitt and Larrione Winton added eight points apiece and D’Shawn Fenderson finished with seven.

As the event continues on Saturday in Morristown, Dobyns-Bennett will face Knoxville West at 3 p.m. and Austin-East will take on host Morristown West at 4:30 p.m.

Knoxville West was among the earliest in the area to integrate, doing so in 1964, while Morristown West is representing the Green Dragons of the city’s original West High School, which was a black school from its opening in 1959 until integration in 1968.