Jean Hicks Sorrell, age 95, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, July 20, 2021, at her residence in Brownsville, TN. Funeral Services will be conducted on Sunday, July 25, 2021, at 3:00 PM, at the Brownsville Baptist Church with Bro. Mike Young, Bro. Bob Connerley, and Bro. Bill Sorrell officiating. Burial will follow at Brownsville Memorial Gardens. A visitation for Mrs. Sorrell will be held from 1:30 PM until 3:00 PM at the Brownsville Baptist Church. Frances Jean Hicks Sorrell was born on December 13, 1925, in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Her parents were William Lawrence Hicks and Bess McMillen Hicks. Her father was the jailer of Hardin County, Kentucky, and her mother cooked at the jail. She was very industrious as a young girl and stayed busy helping ladies with housecleaning. Her life as a Baptist began at the Severns Valley Baptist Church in Elizabethtown. After graduating from Elizabethtown High School, she attended Campbellsville College in Kentucky which was a two-year school at that time. When the president of Campbellsville became the president of Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, she followed. It was at Union University where she met her future husband, H.K. Sorrell. They met at a new student fellowship at the First Baptist Church. H. K. aka “Kep” was from Memphis but had her believing he was from Florida because the Florida guys were getting all the attention from the girls. She graduated from Union University in 1948, with a degree in education. In 1949, she and H. K. were married and the life as a pastor’s wife began. She was very active in church life serving alongside her husband at churches in Kentucky and Tennessee. She loved teaching in Sunday School, Vacation Bible School and as an 8th grade English teacher at Anderson Grammar school and the Haywood County Junior High. She enjoyed reading, gardening, travel and making a happy home for her four sons, whom she loved dearly. She was survived by her four sons, Bill Sorrell of Whiteville, TN, Mark Sorrell of Southaven, MS, Stephen Sorrell of Brownsville, TN, and Paul Sorrell of Jackson, TN. She leaves a legacy of one grandchild, Lauren Maslowski of Arlington, TN and three, great-grandchildren, Bram Maslowski, Bryley Maslowski and Lila Rae Maslowski. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. H. K. Sorrell; her parents, William and Bess Hicks, and one brother, Bill Hicks. Pallbearers for the service are Archie Beard, Mark Dyer, Robby Tidwell, Bill Gruenewald, Richard Nelson, and George Norvell. The family expresses great appreciation to Avalon Hospice Care and to her caregivers, Pearl Taylor, Mary Ann Douglass, Martha Taylor, Nina Gooch and Paulette Jarret for their incredible love and care. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the church of the donor’s choice. All arrangements and services are under the direction of the Lea & Simmons Funeral Home in Brownsville, TN.
