Lalah Lovett and Lena York
Written by Justin D. Lamb
Left: Amos and Lena (Hill) York
Right: Bern and Lalah (Hill) Lovett
For Lalah Lovett and Lena York, family was everything. So much so that between these two sisters, twenty-seven children were born making the Lovett and York families two of the largest in Marshall County.
Lalah and Lena were born to Walter and Effie Hill and being raised in the Olive community as part of a large close-knit family certainly helped shape the fabric of these sisters. Lalah was born on February 23, 1899. Lena came on November 10, 1901. Their father, Walter, passed away in 1908 and their mother married Henry Isaac York who owned a general store at Olive. This marriage brought two half-brothers, Lawrence York and Charles York.
Lalah would marry Bern Lovett on February 14, 1914 and were married for fifty-seven years. A total of twelve children were born to this marriage: Roy Lovett (born 1915, Died 1987), Mary Lovett Nimmo (born 1917, Died 1991), Madelene Lovett Collie (born 1919, Died 2013), Hill Lovett (born 1921, Died 2002), Joe Lovett (born 1924), Mildred Lovett Crouse (born 1926), Mavis Lovett Golightly (born 1928, Died 2015), Kitty Lovett Cope (born 1930), Wayne Lovett (born 1932, Died 2002), Leon Lovett (born 1934), Betty Lovett Henson (born 1936), and Pat Lovett (born 1938).
A young Lena (left) and Lalah (right) standing with their brother Dorsey and parents Walter and Effie Hill in Olive in 1904.
Lena married Amos York in 1917 and the couple were married for sixty-six years. A total of fifteen children were born to this marriage: James York (Born 1918, Died 2009), Paul York (Born 1919, Died 2004) , Martha Nell York Conner (Born 1921), Lola Mae York Jackson (Born 1923, Died 2002), Rease “Mutt” York (Born 1925, Died 2008), Myrl “Dink” York (Born 1927, Died 2016), Guy “Red” York (Born 1930, Died 2001), Lorene York Barnes (Born 1932), Katherine York Frizzell (Born 1934), Donald York (Born 1936, Died 2012), Holland York (Born 1938), Edward York (Born 1940), Rosemary York Todd (Born 1942), Molene “Babe” York Rudd (Born 1944) and Bobby Joe York (Born 1946).
The 15 Children of Amos and Lena York
Both Lena and Lalah devoted their entire lives to their families. “Mom was wonderful,” recalled Molene York Rudd, the fourteenth child of Amos and Lena York. “Everyone loved her. She was a great Christian lady.”Leon Lovett, the ninth child of Bern and Lalah Lovett, also echoed these sentiments of his mother as well. “Mom always made sure we didn’t do without,” commented Lovett. “We grew our own food and we raised tobacco and strawberries and we sold milk from our milk cows.”
Bern and Lalah Lovett with their 12 children in September 1959.
Lalah Lovett passed away on December 15, 1971. Lena York’s death came on November 17, 1983. Their legacy of faith, love, and commitment to family can still be witnessed in their children and grandchildren today. In a time where the family unit no longer plays a central role in society like it once did, the Lovett and York families still hold family near and dear.