Carol Eileen Eubanks

Carol Eileen Eubanks went home to glory on Wednesday, September 23, 2026. Eileen, or Cookie as old friends knew her, passed away peacefully in her home, surrounded by her family. She was born March 5, 1943, in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Eileen was preceded in death by her precious baby, Timothy; her parents, Earl Wesley and Erma Elizabeth (Huff) McConkey; her siblings and their spouses: Pete McConkey (Helen); Don McConkey (Mary); Ruby Tindell (Paul); and Liz Clevenger (James); and her niece, Cindy McConkey Thomas.

She is survived by her daughter, Shannon Eubanks, and her son, Jimmy Eubanks. She is also survived by her grandchildren: Billy Howell (Isabel); Maggie LaForge (Clayton); and Celia Howell. She leaves behind several nieces and nephews she loved very much: Pam Mynatt (Butch); Jeanne Fielden; Buster Vineyard; Rhonda Vineyard; Richard Vineyard (Olga); Mike McConkey (Janet); Sandra Monroe; Lisa Brown; Wes McConkey (Lisa); Lei Faust (Patrick); Donna Egan (Jeff); Deanna Lowery (David); and multiple great nieces and nephews.

The best way to tell you about Eileen Eubanks’ life is to tell you who and what she loved. 

She loved Halls, where she grew up as the daughter of Earl and Erma McConkey, and the sister of Pete, Don, Ruby and Liz. They were all active at Halls High School where Eileen was a proud majorette for the Red Devils. She loved the Amoco Station her father and brothers ran on Maynardville Highway. She loved her church, Black Oak Baptist, and all her neighbors on Browns Gap Road. 

Her next love was hairstyling. She was very proud to be a graduate of East Tennessee School of Beauty when it was on Market Square. She rode the bus there and talked about how fancy the S&W Cafeteria was on Gay Street. 

She then fell in love with a young man, Jim “Sarge” Eubanks, and even though the marriage did not last, it produced her children that she dearly loved. She had Shannon first and then Jimmy and his twin, Timothy. Timothy tragically died during delivery and Eileen never stopped loving and missing him. 

She never missed ballgames where Shannon was a cheerleader or Jimmy’s soccer games or BMX bike races. She always showed up for her children and always made sure they had what they needed and got to where they needed to go. She cooked three meals almost every day and worked on and off at the same time. She loved her family and always put them first. 

Eileen ran Raccoon Valley Grocery, better known as the Smiley Face Store, for many years. She loved her customers and hearing all about their lives – the Clantons, the Smiths, the Vandergriffs, the Sharps, the Joneses, the Warwicks and so many more. 

Her mom, Erma AKA Granny McConkey, and her nieces, Cindy and Donna, helped out at the store. Eileen kept a record player on a shelf in the store, ready to play Charlie Rich, Freddy Fender or K-Tel albums at any moment. 

She later worked at the Delta Truck Stop on Raccoon Valley where she made more friends. She even met Vince Gill and Patty Loveless when their buses came through before they were famous. She worked for a few years at the 441 Market where she knew every customer. 

She finished her working career at the Food City on Clinton Highway in the deli. It was hard work but once again, she made some wonderful friends. However, she said the best day of her life was the day she walked out for the last time and retired. 

Retirement is where Eileen found a lot of happiness. She got to spend more time with her mother and her sisters. She loved those three women with all her heart. When she was around them, you could see her relax and let them take over and let her be the baby, confident everyone else would take care of her. Eileen, her mom and her sisters could be seen in Ruby’s giant Lincoln Town Car tooling through Halls having a ball just doing everyday things. They loved eating at Golden Girls in Clinton and at the old Hunter Brothers in Halls. They would hang out at Granny’s apartment in Sunnybrook, joined often by their children and grandchildren, everybody talking at the same time. Her sisters knew her well and how Eileen was always late. They always assigned her the drinks and napkins for family get-togethers. They helped run a regular dance at the Halls Senior Center and made lots of friends there. 

Tragically, her sisters, Liz and Ruby, died in their 60s, leaving a hole that no one could ever fill. Eileen grieved their loss till the day she died. 

Eileen’s next big love was the Halls Senior Center. She and her mother played bingo there and Eileen exercised and line-danced multiple times a week for years. She made the very best friends there. They went to lunch, celebrated holidays and went to Harrah’s. Debbie, Shirley and Lori were her special friends. They visited her many times during the last year when she was not feeling well, and it cheered her up so very much. 

Eileen was blessed with three grandchildren, Billy, Maggie and Celia. She loved them and came to help after each birth. She would get up around the clock and bring them to her daughter to feed them. She came to visit them in Virginia for football games, swim meets, graduations, theater shows and everything in between. She loved having them squeeze into her condo and spoiled them with treats.

Eileen loved her neighbor, Willa. She and Willa lived next to each other for 26 years. They loved sitting on Eileen’s front porch and watching the action in the neighborhood. They were great friends and helpers to each other.

Eileen loved to drive. Her driver’s license represented freedom to her. When her kids were little, she ripped around Knoxville in a blue Bronco. She never had extra money but she always found a way to have fun. She took her kids to the TVA & I fair every year. She took them to Clayton Mobile Homes on Saturdays for free hot dogs and music. She took them to Golden Glove boxing, NASCAR races and so much more. But she was only able to do that because she could drive and she never stopped wanting to drive. 

She got a replacement license in the mail a month before she passed away. She was so happy to examine it and carefully put it in her purse. She never gave up on someday being able to drive again. Lastly, but most importantly, Eileen loved Jesus. She accepted Jesus into her heart when she was a little girl at Black Oak Baptist Church. She was a member there and later transferred her letter to Cedar Grove Baptist Church when she moved to Raccoon Valley, In her later years, she was a member of New Testament Baptist Church in Maynardville. She loved her Sunday School class and the ladies in it and her teacher, Joyce. She particularly loved the lessons on women in the Bible and how much they achieved for God. She never stopped praying for her family. She lived her faith and kept a Bible at the ready in her car. She was delighted when her youngest grandchild opted to be baptized in the river “like Jesus and her Mamaw” and she was able to attend the baptism. Jesus surely met her at heaven’s gates with a smile on his face – if Eileen’s sisters and mother didn’t push him out of the way!

Eileen loved so much and she was loved back by so many. In the end, that is what mattered most to her and she spent her last bedbound months surrounded by the love of her family and friends, her son – who spent every night with her, her daughter and her grandchildren. Her example is the example that Jesus tells us is the Great Commandment. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ [b] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ [c] There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31

We will greatly miss her but have been blessed over and over by her life and her love will live in all of us. The family would like to thank Gentiva Hospice for their excellent care of Eileen. As well, thank you to her special caregivers, Monika Jones, Debbie Bass, Tracy Edwards and Stacy Lynn.

Family will receive friends on Thursday, October 1, 2026, from 5:00pm - 7:00pm at Mynatt Funeral Home, Halls Chapel with a memorial service to follow. Family and friends will meet at Mynatt Funeral Home, Halls Chapel at 10:15am to go in procession to Fort Sumter Cemetery for an 11:00am graveside service. 

Online condolences can be made at www.mynattfh.com