Artists Showcase dedicated to Lorraine Hancock Weston ('34)
From the director's chair
By MARY LODGE
 The
smell of oil and acrylic She was born Annie Lor- |
She grew up in the Rowe community just north of Paris. She attended a one room schoolhouse at which her father taught and graduated from Grove High School (1934). At Grove she was on the first girls' basketball team (1931- 1932 school year). The girls practiced outside and had their games in tobacco barns. Fire barrels were placed at each end of the barn to provide heat in the cold weather. One of her most prized pos- Mrs. Weston worked more at the business, with partner Ed Over the years she received |
Mrs. Weston's hobbies included writing an extensive family genealogy and collect- ing antique dolls. But it is the hobby she took up later in life that caught the attention of the Arts Council. At the age of 65, Mrs. Weston began to paint using watercolors. Several people met at the paint store once a week for night art lessons led by Tim Pafford. She entered several of her Mrs. Weston was one of the When her grandfather, Aza- |
Reprinted from The Paris Post-Intelligencer
Paris, Tennessee
October 27, 2005 Edition
| Lorraine
Weston was painter, longtime business owner Lorraine Hancock Weston, who died at age 91 on Thursday in Paris, was a painter and longtime Paris businesswoman. Sixty-five was a special number for her. She worked at the family business for 65 years and then at the age of 65 she began to paint with watercolors. Her paintings won awards and were hung in historical buildings including the state Capitol in Nashville. Her work, “E.W. Grove, Henry County High School, circa 1934 by Lorraine Weston, 1984,” was a particular favorite. Five hundred lithographs of the painting were produced and 475 went to admirers in the United States. Her paintings also found their way to Canada and England. The 2005 Paris-Henry County Arts Council’s Community Artists Showcase was noted as a tribute to Weston. Born north of Paris, Weston grew up in the Rowe community. She attended a one-room schoolhouse, with her father working as the teacher. She graduated from Grove High School. She was a member of Grove’s first girls’ basketball team, which practiced outside and played games in tobacco barns. Fire barrels were employed to provide heat for the games. In a Post-Intelligencer article in 2005, a family member said a silver basketball necklace was one of her most prized possessions. She won the necklace for making the most free throws, 29 of 30 shots, during a district basketball contest. She later played basketball at Memphis State College, where she majored in education. In 1942 she married Owen Weston. They were married 52 years, before his death in 1995. Following her formal education, Weston went to work full-time at Tayloe-Hancock Paint and Glass Store, which was co-owned by her father and Ed Tayloe Sr. She remained at the establishment for 65 years until she was 87 years old. In the latter years of her business career, she and Ed Tayloe Jr. owned and operated Tayloe-Hancock in downtown Paris. When it split, Weston operated the paint business, with Tayloe running the glass store. For her work in business, she received Outstanding Business Woman of the Year and was listed in Who’s Who Among American Business & Professional Women. Weston’s grandfather, Azariah Hancock, left land for a school or church in Henry County. When the city of Paris bought the land, money went to his heirs. Lorraine Weston persuaded descendents to donate their inheritance to the Hancock Fine Arts Trust. The trust helped fund field trips and special performances concerning the arts for the Paris Special School District. Reprinted
from The Paris Post-Intelligencer |
| Proud to be a citizen of Mrs.
Weston’s county Editorial by Bill Williams Hancock Trust creator was a recognized artist Lorraine Weston was one of those people who make you proud to be a Henry Countian. Born into an old Henry County family and a life-long resident, she had roots deep into the community she loved. She found a lot of ways to make it better. The arts became a late-discovered passion. At the age of 65, she took up painting with watercolors, and quickly became a recognized artist. Her Grove High School painting is easily the most recognized depiction of the school’s signature Tower building. She was not satisfied just to produce original art works, however. Her ongoing legacy is the Hancock Fine Arts Trust, which annually provides funds for field trips and special performances for students in Paris Special School District. She persuaded her relatives to establish the fund with proceeds from the sale of land that her grandfather, Azariah Hancock, had donated for use as a school or church. She may have held the local record for longevity in business. At the age of 22, she went to work in her father’s firm, Tayloe-Hancock Paint and Glass Store, and remained there for 65 years. Mrs. Weston was a personal link from the days of one-room schools to modern times. For a long, long time, she was a positive force in our community. Reprinted from The Paris Post-Intelligencer
|