Agnes K Sells

Funeral service for Mrs. Agnes K. Schmidt Sells, age 99, of Livingston will be conducted at 3 p.m. Sunday April 29,2018 from the First Christian Church in Livingston. Rev. Dee Wells and Rev. James Shenko will officiate. Burial will be in the Green Hill Cemetery. The family will welcome friends at the First Christian Church on Saturday evening from 6 until 9 p.m., with an Eastern Star Service at 7 p.m. Mrs. Sells passed from this life on Wednesday evening, April 25, 2018 at the Overton County Health & Rehab Center. Mrs. Agnes was born in Tallinn, Estonia, a small country off the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, on May 5, 1918 to the late Aleksander Gottsried & Selma Jakopson Schmitt. Mrs. Agnes tells in a handwritten story about her life and the horrific events she lived through following the invasion of Russia into their country. The following is just a very small portion of her handwritten story. With the arrival of the Russians into Estonia, all radios were confiscated, the banks and other businesses taken over, homes and farms became collective property. People started to disappear, many were arrested, tortured, murdered. It wasn't safe to sleep two night in same place....[more]

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milies, men, women, children of all ages were taken to railway stations and loaded into cattle cars. Agnes' parents were among those taken. Agnes and her brother, Harry, were able to slip away, and for a while, they were hidden by friends. After enduring many close calls on their lives, Agnes and her brother, Harry, were taken to Germany where Harry eventually joined the Germany army, and Agnes never saw him again. Even though Agnes somehow survived a war that many others did not, one of the worst things she suffered during this time in her life was not ever knowing what happened to her brother. After the arrival of the American army in German, Agnes got acquainted with a soldier named Kermit Sells, and in January of 1950, they were married. Two years later, their son, Kermit D. Sells Jr., "Butch", a nickname his father gave him, was born. Kermit served in the military for 20 years, including the Korean War, which required them to move a lot. States they lived in were New Jersey, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Virginia, Louisiana, and they also spent three years in Italy. Upon Kermit's retirement from the military, they made their home in the Oak Grove community, between Livingston and Alpine. Kermit passed away in 1992. Agnes has been active in the Eastern Star, where she served as past matron. She is a member of the American Legion, the VFW, and also First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Livingston. Agnes loved her family dearly, and enjoyed crocheting. She loved flowers and her dog. Agnes also loved going to church and singing. Mrs. Agnes leaves her son, Butch Sells & wife Teresa of Livingston, TN; grandchildren, Cody Sells & wife Kisha, Whitney Sells Matthews & husband Brandon & Tyler Sells; great grandchildren, Baylin, Brody, Ezra & Eden; several very special friend. In addition to her parents, Agnes was preceded in death by her husband, Kermit Dolbert Sells & brother, Harry Schmidt.