Ponder (P. O.) Strange

PONDER (P. O. ) STRANGE, age 90, of Dandridge, TN went home to be with his Lord Jesus Christ on Sunday, March 28, 2010 at Jefferson County Nursing Home. He was a member and deacon at Nina Missionary Baptist Church for over 55 years. Ponder served with the CCC in Washington until the start of WWII when he entered the Army. By the end of the war, he was a staff sergeant. He was a 32nd degree mason and member of the Leadvale Lodge # 390 F & AM, and a member of the Gideons International, Jefferson County Camp. In 1948, Ponder started working for Lowland Construction Company as a millwright. In 1982 he retired as a Maintenance Supervisor for American Enka Company. He was preceded in death by his parents, Theodore and Molly Chesteen Strange; sister and brother-in-law, Myrtle and Marshal McCoig of Dandridge; brothers, Clyde (infant), Dave and Thula Strange of Dandridge, and Gene Strange of Franklin, NC. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Helen Riley Strange; daughters and sons-in-law, Donnie and Robert Denton of White Pine, Jo and Kenny Martin of Lithia Springs, GA; son and daughter-in-law, Ponder Strange, Jr.(Sonny) and Brenda of Jefferson City; eight grandchildren; eleven great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews. The family will receive friends from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m. at Nina Missionary Baptist Church on Tuesday evening, March 30, 2010. The memorial service will follow at 7:00 p.m. with Rev. Jimmy Norris (Pastor and friend) leading the services. Graveside interment service will be 11:00 a.m. Wednesday at Swanns Chapel Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Nina Missionary Baptist Church Building Fund, P.O. Box 219, White Pine, TN 37890, or to Gideon?s International Memorial Bibles, P. O. Box 1245, Dandridge, TN 37725. Arrangements by Farrar Funeral Home in Dandridge, TN (865) 397-2711