KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — Sara "Lillian" Garrett Bean, a former Knox County Circuit, General Sessions and Juvenile Court clerk, passed away on Dec. 11. She was 81.
Bean grew up in Mt. Olivet Christian Church in Rose Hill, Virginia. She graduated from Thomas Walker High School in 1961 and graduated from National Business College in 1963, according to her obituary. Later in life, she became a member of Glenwood Baptist Church.
Bean never forgot her first home away from home when she came to Knoxville. According to the obituary, she lived at the YWCA for four years while she was in school. During that time, she would hold annual chair parties and garner proceeds from selling beans and cornbread at the Fall Festival at the Appalachian Museum. She did this for some 25 years.
She held her position in the Knox County Circuit for 18 years, to which she served with great pride.
"She was truly a public servant of the people," her obituary states.
Bean served as president of most of the Republican clubs in the area. She was also a member of Knoxville Women’s Club for some 25 years and served as president, and many other offices in the Women’s Club. Bean was given the honor of “Woman of the Year” three times by the Knoxville Women’s Club and was honored by the American Business Women’s Association-Sunsphere Chapter as Woman of the Year, her obituary said.
Bean enjoyed assistant coaching her children in junior pro basketball and also enjoyed watching her grandchildren playing sports. She leaves behind a husband, a son, two daughters and five grandchildren.
A funeral has already been held for Bean. She is expected to be buried at the East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery on Dec. 19.