Herman "Pa" Sansom

Herman “Pa” Sansom, age 93, of the Oak Grove Community of Franklin County, passed away Saturday, April 12, 2025, under the loving care and comfort of his family and the dedicated and professional staff of The Lantern at Morning Point.

Funeral services will be 3 PM Tuesday, April 15, 2025, at Watson Funeral Home. Reverend Jimmy Gray will officiate, with burial to follow in Mt. Garner Cemetery in Decherd.

The family will receive visitors from 1 PM until service time Tuesday at the funeral home.

He was born August 14, 1931, in Oak Grove, to the late Clarence and Josie Stephens Sansom. He was retired from George Dickel Distillery and was a farmer. He was born on the family farm. He went North in the mid 50’s, as many did, seeking work. Returning to Oak Grove, he worked and lived on the farm.

Pa loved working the land. He raised wheat, cotton, corn, and soybeans. He cut hay and once commented he must have cut hay on every farm in Franklin County. He raised beef cattle. If a cow gave him trouble by getting out of the fence or rolling down the hill into the lake, off they went to market. When he was seventy-five years old, a cow ran over him in the barn. He spent the night in the hospital for observation and when he got out the next morning, he loaded that cow up and off they went to market. He was heard saying, “ that one won’t hurt me again”.

As the years went by, he recognized he was unable to do everything that was required to run the farm. He got rid of all the cows and rented out the land. He was able to watch the folks till the land, plant and cultivate the crops. At harvest time he was able to watch them take in the bounty, probably offering a better way to do things.

Although unable to work the land, he was always able to sit in the house and see the farm. He always wanted to stay on the farm, and did so except for the brief hospital stays late in life.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by brothers and sisters, Raymond Sansom, Clint Sansom, Paul Sansom, Jean Sansom Goodman, and Susie Sansom Williams.

Survivors include his wife of 70+ years, Lanelle Clark Sansom; daughter, Pamela Sansom Feldhaus, and her husband David; grandchildren, David Feldhaus, Jr., and his wife Erin, William Feldhaus, Andrew Feldhaus, and his wife Karen, and Katie Jackson, and her husband Jeffrey; great grandchildren, Emory Feldhaus, Maxwell Feldhaus, and Andrew “Andy” Feldhaus and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Pa would be honored with memorials to: Oak Grove Church of God, 2286 Oak Grove Road, Decherd, TN 37324, or St. Jude’s Children Hospital.