Dorothy Hughes Herndon

Mrs. Dorothy Hughes Herndon, age 100, of Franklin, KY passed away on Monday, March 21, 2022 at 2:00 AM at the Medical Center of Franklin, KY.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, March 24, 2022 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM at Gilbert Funeral Home & Crematory.  Funeral services will be held the same day, at 1:00 PM with burial to follow at Greenlawn Cemetery. Services will be conducted by Mr. Mark Bond and Mr. Wiliam Turner and the grandchildren will be participating as pallbearers and honorary pallbearers.

In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made to Taylor Christian Camp, c/o Franklin Church of Christ, 700 South Main Street, Franklin, KY 42134.  Envelopes will be provided at the funeral home.

Mrs. Herndon was born in Auburn, KY on November 27, 1921 to Tommy and Sarah Frances Hughes.  She was the middle child, 4 girls and 1 boy:  Claradelle Rogers, Josephine Brown, Dorothy, Louise Coleman, and Tom Hughes.  The family lived on a farm during the depression and rode in a horse pulled cart to school.  After high school, Dorothy and her sister, Jo, got an apartment in Auburn and worked at the Auburn Hosiery Mill sewing stockings.

Dorothy met her husband, Ken, on a blind date arranged by Pete Ryan.  Ken enlisted in the army for WWII and was stationed at Fort Campbell, KY.  They planned to be married and Dorothy purchased her wedding dress.  On June 26, 1943, Ken hitch-hiked home and they eloped.  Her dress was still at the shop being altered.  Dorothy moved with Ken to Camp Barkeley near Abilene, TX until he was shipped out to Europe.  After the war, Ken and Dorothy purchased Ken’s family farm where they raised their 5 children, Peggy Humphries (Tom) of Alexandria, VA, Dean Herndon (Donna) of Franklin, KY, Phyllis Mimms of Franklin, KY, Jimmy Herndon (Janis) of Franklin, KY and Lynn Bond (Mark) of Paducah, KY.  Dorothy worked in the home and helped Ken on the farm.  She was happiest driving her John Deere tractor and singing!  She could drive any tractor or truck on the farm and often drove the dump trucks, loaded with grain, to Auburn and Franklin.  As she tells it, she could “back up the truck and dump her grain faster than many of the men”.  During tobacco season, Dorothy was always at the top of the barn to toss the dried sicks of tobacco onto the wagon.  She was still doing this in her 70’s.

Dorothy was just as amazing in the home.  She was an excellent cook and people would always follow her when she arrived at a family dinner or potluck church social to see where she was going to put her homemade bread and chocolate pies.  She had a big garden and canned over 200 quarts of green beans every year in addition to canning and freezing many other vegetables.  She loved her flowers and had a green thumb.  Dorothy cut and styled everyone’s hair and made all her children’s clothes.  This included 3 wedding dresses for her girls.  Ken and Dorothy were among the first to arrive at Locust Grove Church for any events and usually among the last to leave.  Dorothy taught a Sunday school class and helped with the church Vacation Bible School each year.

After retiring, Ken and Dorothy took a cross-country driving vacation with their best friends, Pete and Mayme Ryan.  Ken and Dorothy loved country and gospel music and took many trips to Dollywood.  In 2008, after 65 years of marriage, Dorothy lost her husband, but continued to live on the farm.  In the Spring of 2010, Dorothy moved to Chandler Park to recover after a broken hip.  She fell in love…with the staff, the other residents and all the social activities.  When she had recovered, Dorothy decided she wanted to stay and make Chandler Park her home.

Dorothy (Nanny) has 5 children, 17 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren and 5 great-great-grandchildren.

Gilbert Funeral Home & Crematory website is www.gilbertfhonline.com.  The Facebook page is Gilbert Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc.  The obituary phone line is 270-586-8844.