Sambo Pickett, 54, was born on April 2, 1969, and left this world on February 1st, 2024, doing what he loved to do, driving a dump truck. He graduated from Franklin County High School in 1988 with the help of his girlfriend (whom he later married) who wrote all of his papers and did most of his homework for him as he was not a fan of school. After high school, Sambo worked various jobs until he found his passion of driving trucks. He loved being the biggest vehicle on the road and honking the horn to scare his friends and granddaughters.
Sambo met the love of his life in Mrs. Ginger Hall’s Married Living class in 1987 at FCHS and married Sarah Jane Stewart on January 4th, 1990, in Fayetteville, Georgia. They had $70 to their name and after getting hitched at a justice of the peace, went to McDonald’s afterward because he wanted a mushroom Swiss burger. They went on to have two beautiful children. Brandon Michael Pickett, who was a carbon copy of his daddy, instantly became Sambo’s new best friend. These two got into so much mischief, yet created so much laughter wherever they went. You never saw one without the other. The bond between this daddy and his son was unbreakable. Seventeen months after Brandon was born, they had their daughter Brieanna Kathryn (Pickett) Davidson, and Sambo was once again completely in love. He had his baby girl. His family was complete. He immediately swore she would never be allowed to leave the house as no man was yet to be born that would ever be good enough for her. He had the duty of teaching her how to ride a bike, make the perfect snowball, shoot guns, and drive four wheelers. However, he attempted to teach Brie multiple times over several years to drive a stick shift and failed miserably. He was a natural athlete and passed those genes to Brandon, sorry Brie. He was a star football player in high school and loved to tell stories of his glory days. He coached football and baseball as a dad and made it fun for all of the kids on the team, as he was a self-proclaimed big kid himself.
Sambo loved deer hunting almost more than his wife. Camo was his favorite color that he wore along with his overalls. He loved his Vols, UT orange, and Trump. He enjoyed going to the lake with his wife and father-in-law, Cozzie Stewart, though anyone rarely caught a fish. He loved to travel, though hated airplanes, so there were a lot of road trips to states he never thought he would see.
Sambo is survived by his wife, Sarah Jane Stewart Pickett, of 34 years. Two children, Brandon (Jen) Pickett of Shelbyville, and Brieanna (Travis) Davidson of Unionville. Sambo was known as Pappy to his grandchildren, Hunter Davidson, Daisy Davidson, Dani Jane Davidson, Denver Davidson and Paisley Pickett, and has unborn grandchildren he was excitedly awaiting which are due in May and July,
He is the son of Larry Pickett of Lexie Crossroads and the late Sharon Smith of Cowan, TN. He is survived by his brothers Brian (Maria) Gaither, Scottie Pickett, and sister Denise. He had a special love for his surviving Aunt Margaret Pickett of Cowan and his numerous cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held on Sunday, February 4, 2024, from 5:00pm – 8:00pm at Moore-Cortner Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held on Monday, February 5, 2024, at 3:00pm from the chapel at Moore Cortner Funeral Home with interment following at Franklin Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, please do a random act of kindness, stop by a school and give money to kids’ unpaid lunch balances, or call someone you haven’t spoken to in a while and share a few laughs.
Moore-Cortner Funeral Home, 300 First Ave NW, Winchester, TN 37398, (931)-967-2222
