KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A Knoxville woman is using the magic of her voice to remind shoppers at West Town Mall about the true meaning of Christmas.
"I started noticing if I know the song playing over the mall speakers, I sing along, and if I know it really well, I just let loose," Eleanor Wolfe said.
At 7 years old, Wolfe discovered her passion for singing. Now 33, she has performed with choirs across East Tennessee.
"I was born to sing in echoey places, yes, to glorify God," Wolfe said.
This holiday season, however, Wolfe has found a special audience of one. "I come almost every day that Jennifer is here so that I could sing her favorite songs before the mall turns on their music."
Jennifer Barrett has worked at West Town Mall for almost a decade. One year ago, Wolfe sang in front of her kiosk for the first time.
"I thought she was amazing," Barrett, who is a store manager at Banter by Piercing Pagoda said. "She has an angelic voice that if I was in heaven, it's what I've pictured it sounding like."
Through her faith and passion, Wolfe has formed a new friendship.
"I'm the lucky one," Barrett said. "We've become friends, and she comes and sings to me every morning that I work. It's been a great relationship to learn a lot about autism and just Eleanor in general. She's very special to me."
Despite attention from shoppers, and people stopping by to compliment her talents, Wolfe said her mission is clear: "I'm not doing it to promote me. I'm doing it to promote God."
And while mall customers around her continue shopping for the perfect gift, Wolfe's gift brings the magic of the holidays to life.
In 2013, Wolfe graduated from Pellissippi State Community College then transferred to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. In 2019, she graduated with a degree in interdisciplinary engineering. She said she loved singing on campus because of the reverberations.