Ateka L. Morton

Ateka L. Morris Morton, December 29, 1925 - March 29, 2016. Born in northern Alabama, Ateka’s unusual name came from a character in a book her mother was reading. She was the oldest of three pretty sisters. Her father was a forms carpenter and the family moved with construction projects. Ateka was a big sister, lived through the hardships of the Great Depression, supported a World War II soldier, adjusted to farm life, raised two boys, took business courses, worked outside the home and, finally, taught her husband to dance. Ateka graduated from Knoxville Central High School in 1942 and met and married Bill Morton shortly after. The couple moved to Alcoa for a job and birthed a son in 1943. Ateka cared for their son while Bill was in Europe during WWII. She met him in Bastrop, TX where they lived until discharge. They returned to Alcoa and stayed there through the birth of their second son in 1948. In 1950 the family moved to a home on the Morton family farm in Halls. Ateka stayed on that farm for over sixty years. Ateka loved her places on the Farm and in her Church. Ateka and Bill were among the founding members of Halls Central Methodist Church. She worked as a bookkeeper and clerk for several Knoxville businesses, cooked all the things her three boys liked, made sure there was music in the home and was always ready to dance. Ateka was preceded in death by her parents, Jessie Florence Gurley and James Lee Morris; husband William Murphy Morton; sister Jane Lee; and special friends Janet Hayes and Ailene Haynes. She is survived by her sister Jeanette Smith of Tampa, FL; sons and daughters-in-law William H. (Bill) and Carlene Shaver Morton of Maryville and James W. (JIM) and Gay Hobt Morton of Halls; grandchildren, Jesse Morton (Jennifer Rice) of Jacksonville, FL and Annie Morton Chavez (Dion) of Burien, WA; five great grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, make a contribution to Christ United Methodist Church in Halls, 7535 Maynardville Hwy, Knoxville, TN 37938 or at http:www.christumcknox.com/ministries.html or a charity of your choice. The family will receive friends 12:00-1:30pm, Saturday, at Mynatt Funeral Home Halls Chapel. Family and friends will meet 1:45pm, Saturday, at Lynnhurst Cemetery for a graveside service at 2:00pm.