Wanda Gail (Basset) Burnett

Wanda Gail (Basset) Burnett was born on August, 2 1945, she passed away on September 28, 2021 at her home.

We invite you to a Celebration of Life to be held on Sunday, October 3rd at the 3:00 pm at the Burnett Family Farm Barn, 4529 Standing Rock Road, Deerlodge, TN 37726. Visitation will be held from 1pm - 3pm.

Wanda Gail’s greatest desire in life was to be a mother, which was evident in every aspect of her life. She is survived by her five children - Janis Atkinson and husband Phil, Todd Burnett and wife Tracey, Philip Burnett and wife Jane, Kris Henderson and wife Dewona, and Cortney Burnett Blackston and husband Matthew, brother, Kevin Woods and wife Gina, 13 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren, as well as 17 foster children and an entire community of kids. Whether it was coaching basketball, years of coaching tee-ball, carting a community of kids around in her 15 passenger van, or teaching generation after generation of kids, she was a mother to anyone who crossed her path, whether they needed it or not.

She was preceded in death by her parents, James and Helen (Blunkall) Basset, her husband Tommy, and her sister Nonye.

She lived her life to the fullest in all areas. She came to Fentress County a shy, Nashville city girl. It did not take her long to be pulling a birthing calf, chopping wood for her neighbors, and learning the art of being a country girl. She spent her time riding motorcycles, walking the fresh turned fields of the plateau looking for arrowheads, playing poker, planting her garden, digging in bluffs, looking for worms and fishing every pond near and far. She was meticulous in her mowing and weed eating, and it took much direction and redirection for anyone else to get it right.

She was known to be a giver. She worked tirelessly in her second home, Banner Roslin School, showing up at the crack of dawn so people could drop their kids off, driving her van around to pick up kids who needed a ride, sanding the floors, and painting murals on the walls.

She was a member of the Crossville First United Methodist Church, where she had her “own” self proclaimed parking space, learned to become a football fan so she could talk smack with her Sunday school class about the UT game, and made lifelong friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: Fentress County Retired Teachers Association, and Spring Chapel Cemetery Fund. Donations can be left at Jennings Funeral Homes.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Wanda Gail (Basset) Burnett, please visit our floral store.