Person Page - 1033

     Jean Lorraine Bagwell was born on 14 November 1942 in Henderson County, North Carolina. She was the daughter of Lewis Powell Bagwell and Katherine Martha Simpson. As of 4 May 1962,her married name was Shuford. Jean Lorraine Bagwell married George William Shuford on 4 May 1962 at Transylvania County, North Carolina. Jean Lorraine Bagwell and George William Shuford were divorced on 11 September 1984 at Transylvania County, North Carolina. As of after 1985,her married name was Jessen. Jean Lorraine Bagwell married John Jessen after 1985. Jean Lorraine Bagwell died on 8 October 2023 in Henderson, Henderson County, North Carolina, at age 80. She was buried at Gillespie Evergreen Cemetery, Brevard, Transylvania County, North Carolina.

     George William Shuford married Jean Lorraine Bagwell, daughter of Lewis Powell Bagwell and Katherine Martha Simpson, on 4 May 1962 at Transylvania County, North Carolina. George William Shuford and Jean Lorraine Bagwell were divorced on 11 September 1984 at Transylvania County, North Carolina.

     John Jessen married Jean Lorraine Bagwell, daughter of Lewis Powell Bagwell and Katherine Martha Simpson, after 1985.

     Adrienne (?) married Mark Jeffrey Bagwell, son of Raymond Doyle Bagwell and Jean Frances Josey, after 1984.

     Katherine Jordan married Richard Thomas Bagwell, son of J.W. Bagwell and Mary Evelyn Church, circa 1977.

     Andrew William Bagwell was born on 6 March 1985 in Orange County, California. He was the son of Richard Thomas Bagwell and Katherine Jordan. Andrew William Bagwell died on 20 February 2019 in Mobile, Mobile County, Alabama, at age 33.

     Amanda Bagwell is the daughter of Richard Thomas Bagwell and Katherine Jordan. Amanda Bagwell married James Donnie Patterson after 1996.

     James Donnie Patterson married Amanda Bagwell, daughter of Richard Thomas Bagwell and Katherine Jordan, after 1996.

     Richard Thomas Bagwell Jr. is the son of Richard Thomas Bagwell and Katherine Jordan.

     Shirley Sidney Thompson married William Richard Bagwell, son of Lloyd Vestal Bagwell and Nellie Parris, on 27 August 1966 at Putnam County, Tennessee.

     Vena Marie Bagwell was born on 27 December 1973 in Fayetteville, Lincoln County, Tennessee. She was the daughter of William Richard Bagwell and Shirley Sidney Thompson. As of circa 1995,her married name was Champion. Vena Marie Bagwell married Gregory Andrew Champion circa 1995. Vena Marie Bagwell died on 20 July 2022 in Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee, at age 48


Vena Bagwell Champion went to her heavenly home and was welcomed into the Lord’s light on the morning of July 20, 2022 after a difficult and courageous battle with cancer.

Vena was born on December 27, 1973 to her loving parents Richard and Shirley Bagwell. She was raised in Fayetteville, TN and graduated from Lincoln County High School in 1992. Vena had a love for the performing arts and was an avid and talented dancer and musician from early childhood and throughout her life. Vena’s love of her church and Monteagle Mountain led her to attend The University of the South (Sewanee) for her freshman year where she participated in the university dance program and felt the call to teach dance as a profession. Vena transferred to the University of Alabama where she received a B.A. degree in dance with a minor in business. Vena opened the Cumberland Dance Academy in Cookeville, Tennessee, where she positively influenced the lives of hundreds of students over the course of several years.

Vena met the love of her life as a teenager at the Episcopal Youth Event in Montana in 1990. Greg and Vena remained long-distance friends for several years and reconnected in person in 1996. Vena and Greg were married at St. Mary Magdalene’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville in 1997 and took up residence in Cookeville, TN. As their family grew with the addition of their sons Drew and Alex, the Champions moved from Cookeville to Mt. Juliet and finally to Chattanooga.

Vena’s love of the arts was inherited by her boys who are both excellent actors and musicians. To support them and follow her own interests, Vena worked for the Chattanooga Theater Center and the Chattanooga High School Center for Creative Arts where her boys attended school. Vena served one year as chair of the Dubose Conference Center board of directors and one year as the director of Camp Gailor-Maxon, the Episcopal Church’s summer camp in the Diocese of Tennessee. Vena also worked as an Account Executive for WDEF News Channel 12. Vena’s love of her family was shown in every decision she made. Her husband and boys were everything to her, and she will be greatly missed by all her family and friends.

Vena is survived by her husband Greg, her sons Drew and Alex, her parents Richard and Shirley Bagwell, her brother Rick (Stacey) Bagwell, and many loving nieces, nephews, and in-laws.

A Celebration of life service will be held at Saint Martin’s of Tours Episcopal Church in Chattanooga on Saturday, July 30, 2022, at 1pm EST . Her ashes will be interred at a later date.

Vena asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Drew and Alex’s college fund. Donations can be sent to https://www.gofundme.com/f/drew-alex-champion-college-fund

You may share condolences to the family at www.heritagechattanooga.com

Arrangements are by Heritage Funeral Home, 7454 E. Brainerd Road.


She was buried at Saint Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church Columbarium, Fayetteville, Lincoln County, Tennessee.

     Gregory Andrew Champion was born on 5 March 1975 in Ashtabula County, Ohio. He married Vena Marie Bagwell, daughter of William Richard Bagwell and Shirley Sidney Thompson, circa 1995. Gregory Andrew Champion died on 4 October 2023 in Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee, at age 48. He was buried at Saint Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church Columbarium, Fayetteville, Lincoln County, Tennessee.

     Stacey Dawn Hunt married Richard Thompson Bagwell, son of William Richard Bagwell and Shirley Sidney Thompson, on 17 May 1997 at Donelson, Tennessee.

     Brenda Lucretia Bagwell is the daughter of Robert Houston Bagwell and Norma Irene Crook.

     Patricia Ann Bagwell is the daughter of Robert Houston Bagwell and Norma Irene Crook.

     Jay Bagwell is the son of Robert Houston Bagwell and Norma Irene Crook.

     Susan Rice married Richard Lee Bagwell, son of James Alvis Bagwell and Lois Cothram, before 1962.

     Captain Walter Scott Bagwell is the son of Richard Lee Bagwell and Susan Rice. Captain Walter Scott Bagwell married Lisa Kay Auspurger on 27 April 1994.

     Lisa Kay Auspurger married Captain Walter Scott Bagwell, son of Richard Lee Bagwell and Susan Rice, on 27 April 1994.

     Cynthia Buscemi married Richard Timothy Bagwell, son of Royal Junior Bagwell and Eda Teresa "Deede" Robertson, on 2 June 1990 at Travis County, Texas. Cynthia Buscemi and Richard Timothy Bagwell were divorced on 27 November 1990 at Travis County, Texas.

     Patricia K. Ousley married Richard Timothy Bagwell, son of Royal Junior Bagwell and Eda Teresa "Deede" Robertson, on 5 January 1991 at Liberty County, Texas.

     Frederick Egbert Biglow was born in 1870. He married Frances Dell Bagwell, daughter of George McDonald Bagwell and Ella A. L. Crane, in 1901. Frederick Egbert Biglow died in 1949.

     Luther Pierce was born in 1871. He married Julia Idella Bagwell, daughter of James R. Bagwell and Sarah A. Nease, in 1889. Luther Pierce died in 1938.

     Santino Gerardo Strazzeri is the son of Kenneth Charles Strazzeri and Marian Mullin Callaham.¹

     Beatrice Mille Pearson was born on 13 November 1919. As of 13 October 1943,her married name was Bagwell. She married George Washington Bagwell, son of Luther Mack Bagwell and Janie Sue Weathers, on 13 October 1943 at Wattsville, South Carolina. Beatrice Mille Pearson died on 16 January 1980 at age 60. She was buried at Rosemont Cemetery, Clinton, Laurens County, South Carolina.

     David George Bagwell is the son of George Washington Bagwell and Beatrice Mille Pearson. David George Bagwell married Lisa (?) after 1967.

     Nancy Elizabeth Bagwell was born on 26 December 1945 in South Carolina. She was the daughter of George Washington Bagwell and Beatrice Mille Pearson. As of 28 May 1965,her married name was Honsby. Nancy Elizabeth Bagwell married Marion Gene Honsby on 28 May 1965 at Greenville, South Carolina. Nancy Elizabeth Bagwell died on 17 October 2021 in Greenville Memorial, Greenville, South Carolina, at age 75

Nancy Bagwell Hornsby, age 75, of Waterloo, and widow of Marion Gene Hornsby, passed away on Sunday, October 17, 2021, at PRISMA Healthcare – Greenville Memorial.

She was born in Laurens and was a daughter of the late George Washington and Beatrice Pearson Bagwell and was a member of Second Baptist Church.

She is survived by her children, Alisa Jeffords (Mark) of Simpsonville and George Hornsby (Susan) of Hickory Tavern; grandchildren, Lauren Jeffords Atkins (Joel), Ashley Jeffords, Hannah Jeffords, Carlee Hornsby and Emma Grace Hornsby; a great-grandson, Chase Atkins; a brother, David Bagwell (Lisa) of Oxford, NC; and a sister, Judy Britt (John) of Waterloo.

Funeral service will be held on Thursday, October 21st at 11:00 AM at The Kennedy Mortuary Chapel conducted by Rev. Reiny Koshel, with burial in Mount Olive Baptist Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the funeral service at the mortuary.


Memorials may be made to Laurens Baptist Crisis Center, 30 Ranch Road, Laurens, SC 29360.

The family will be at the home of George Hornsby, 1132 Neely Ferry Road, Laurens, SC 29360.

Condolences may be expressed online at www.thekennedymortuary.com.


She was buried at Mount Olive Baptist Church Cemetery, Ware Shoals, Laurens County, South Carolina.

     Judy E. Bagwell is the daughter of George Washington Bagwell and Beatrice Mille Pearson. Judy E. Bagwell married John Britt after 1967.

     Lisa (?) married David George Bagwell, son of George Washington Bagwell and Beatrice Mille Pearson, after 1967.

     John Britt married Judy E. Bagwell, daughter of George Washington Bagwell and Beatrice Mille Pearson, after 1967.