Robbie Nelle Christopher “Tot” Livingston of Knoxville died Oct. 23, 2016. Mrs. Livingston was born in Athens, Alabama, on June 17, 1921, and graduated from Athens College in 1942. Mrs. Livingston met her late husband, J. Harrison Livingston, of Knoxville, while he was serving in the Coast Guard during World War II. They married in 1943 and moved to Knoxville in 1945. Mrs. Livingston and her husband were the benefactors of the J. Harrison and Robbie C. Livingston Professorship of Population and Immigration Studies at the University of Tennessee and were supporters of the Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee. Mrs. Livingston created the J. Harrison and Robbie Nelle Christopher Livingston Concert Series at Athens State University in Athens in 2007. She was a charter member of Sequoyah Hills Presbyterian Church where she served as Deacon. She was an avid bridge player at Cherokee Country Club for many years. Mrs. Livingston is preceded in death by her parents, Amos Lorenzo and Mamie Will Sneed Christopher, her husband of 62 years, J. Harrison Livingston, brothers, Amos Sneed Christopher and Billy Rich Christopher, and sister, Helen Christopher Patton.
She is survived by her son, Jay Harrison Livingston and daughter-in-law, Carla Bonham Livingston of Knoxville, her daughter, Ann Livingston Huie and son-in-law, Joseph Headden Huie of Knoxville; grandchildren, Jay Harrison Livingston Jr. of New York City, Helen Huie Burns and husband, Christopher Patrick Burns, and Catherine Huie Martin and husband, Carl William Martin Jr., all of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Joseph Garner Huie and wife, Brianne Simpkins Huie, of Macon, Georgia; great-grandchildren, Livingston Ann Burns, Christopher Huie Burns, Carl William Martin III and James Campbell Martin; one sister, Shirley Christopher Wood, one brother, James William Christopher, both of Athens; and several nieces and nephews.
The family extends a special thank you to caregivers, Lisa Andes, Willie Eaton, Tracey Rader, Meghan Lay and Kendra Brewer, and to David Bilyeu for his faithful service. A graveside service will be held at Highland Memorial Cemetery at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Drs. William Barron and Holton Seigling officiating. Visitation will follow at the cemetery. The family asks that memorials be sent to The Livingston Professor Endowment, Department of Geography at The University of Tennessee, The J. Harrison and Robbie Nelle Christopher Livingston Concert Series at Athens State University, Athens, Alabama, or Sequoyah Hills Presbyterian Church.
