Popcorn Sutton gets final send-off and public farewell

More than seven months after taking his own life rather than be wrongfully imprisoned, Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton has been laid to rest... again. And this time his many admirers had the opportunity they had long desired to pay their final respects to the famed moonshiner, Appalachian legend and completely American original character that was Popcorn Sutton.

Originally buried in Mt. Sterling in North Carolina, Popcorn's widow Pam Sutton cited "problems with vandalism" as the reason for moving and re-interring Popcorn's casket at Resthaven Memorial Gardens in Dandridge, Tennessee: not far from Popcorn's home in Parrotsville.

The move was scheduled for this past Saturday. A public memorial service was also held, attended by hundreds of people including country music legend Hank Williams Jr.

An old-fashioned horse-drawn hearse then brought Popcorn Sutton to his final resting place.

WBIR has more about the service for Popcorn Sutton, including a rather intriguing comment from Hank Williams Jr.

And here are three videos of the service, courtesy of aliciajose on YouTube (thanks aliciajose!)...

Popcorn Sutton Memorial Service Part 2

Popcorn Sutton Memorial Service Part 3

And if y'all wanna know why so many of your friends and neighbors have found Popcorn Sutton and his craft so endearing and enchanting, I cannot possibly recommend enough Neal Hutcheson's award-winning documentary The Last One. This has become the most-watched DVD of my collection in the past year (mostly 'cuz of all the people who keep asking to borrow it! :-)

Categories: culture, moonshine, popcorn sutton