What Happened during
the Final Years of
Mary Virginia Combs ?
I am trying to find out what happened to my cousin Mary Virginia Combs. I believe my siblings deliberately hid her death from me in an effort to circumvent her will.
Preface
My mother (Mary Alice Carr) died in November 2018. Although I saw her during the summer of 2018, I didn't understand how serious her condition was. I kept in touch with my sister Mary Anne Lawson, and when she told me of my mother's worsening condition, my family jumped into my van and drove straight through from Frisco to Bristol.
Fortunately, we arrived in time to visit with my mother before her death, but we were exhausted from the trip, and our time together was short.
After my mother died, I noticed a profound change in the attitude of my brother Mack Jr and Mary Anne. They became extraordinarily evasive and began a series of ugly, unfounded accusations against me and my family.
When my mother was alive, my son often visited and spent hours in her upstairs garage playing games on her computer.
During the visitation after my mother’s death, Matthew, once again, retreated to the garage and to the computer at her home. Perhaps to return to a familiar pastime in order to process his grandmother's death, or maybe just to take a break from the hubris from the constant arrival of well-wishers, he returned to this familiar pastime.
This enraged my sister, who locked the computer and wouldn't unlock it for him. It was followed by a series of nasty accusations. I don't know if it was because of some perceived slight or because my mother also kept the financial details of her estate on that computer, nevertheless, those ugly accusations were beyond belief.
This upset my wife and son so much that I immediately purchased tickets for their return to Texas on the next available flight,
Details of my mother’s farm finances were never shared prior to the closing of the estate.
Inquiries for access to those records were met with declarations that I didn't need to know them and that my Mary Anne and Mack Jr, had been granted exclusive access to them via the language in my mother’s will therefore I wasn't entitled to know.
More significantly, my siblings had control over my trust and I was constantly reminded of this and repeatedly threatened with retribution if I opposed their decisions.
For example, Mary Anne told me that Mack Jr. was going to move into my mother’s home and commandeer control of the farm. I asked if I would receive any money from the farm as my mother received reoccurring payments from Vulcan Materials for use of the right of way through her estate.
Additionally, my mother received lease income from a previous agreement with Maymead (an asphalt paving company that had since been acquired). They had once operated an asphalt plant on part of my mother’s farm and although they had abandoned it, some of their machinery remained. Moreover, the lease still had some years till it expired. I understand they paid that lease through expiry.
Mary Anne told me that the bulk of that income would be allocated to taxes and upkeep with little remaining for disbursement to my son and I. Initially, I was ok with that but as time proceeded, I questioned the fairness of that decision and voiced my opposition to continuing that arrangement.
On my first trip to Bristol after my mother’s death in January 2019 is when I realized that they were lying to me! I had made that trip to assist in the cleaning out of my mother’s home. Understand that it was an extremely cluttered home filled with antiques and collectables. Totally stuffed.
My brother and sister had already removed nearly two shipping containers of furniture and collectables, and they were sitting in the driveway. Additionally, I understand they had removed several truckloads of clothing that had been donated to local charities. However, much still remained.
During this visit, Mary Anne hovered over me at every instance. When I was clearing out my old bedroom, she was right there watching every move. Then she suggested that we sell Mack Jr. our part of the furnishing for $5000 each and just let him have it. She stated that If I agreed then “things” would go faster. To be compliant. I agreed and returned to Texas.
After my return to Texas, I received a bill of sale from Rob Lawson to sign. I noted that the “sale” was to both Mary Anne and Mack Jr. That’s when I knew that I had been played and they were conspiring to cheat me.
That’s when I downloaded a recording app for my phone and later bought a phone recorder for my home office.
Previously, my mother had given Mack Jr. a deed to a section of her farm that was occupied by his shop. Because my mother was deeply suspicious of his then wife Trina, they agreed that the deed would remain in my mother’s safe to be recorded on her death.
My mother’s reasoning was that his ownership would be protected in the event of divorce. Her feeling was prophetic. Mack Jr, and Trina were divorced in XXXXXXX.
My brother had a relationship behind his wife’s back that led to the divorce. He kept it from my mother, too.
Obviously, he didn’t tell his ex-wife about the “unrecorded deed” to his shop and the accompanying acreage on my mother's farm. More significantly, he purposely omitted that from his divorce settlement affidavit.
After my mother's death, this became problematic for Mary Anne and Mack Jr. They didn’t want to record that deed because it had been signed and notarized at the time of execution (somewhere around 1999-2000) and they feared that, if recorded, questions might arise because the deed was about 18 years old.
They feared this disclosure might place a shadow on the inheritance to the entirety of my mother’s farm.
More significantly, it would be obvious that, irrespective of the recording date, the execution date would conclusively establish Mark Jr.’s failure to disclose his ownership in his sworn divorce affidavit and would additionally subject him to IRS taxes, penalties, fees, and a potential levy of the property.
I had moved to Texas during the summer of 2014. My life in Bristol had been unusually stressful. I only kept in touch with my mother, Mary Virginia, and very rarely with my brother and sister. I was satisfied with my decision to make a new life in Frisco, a Dallas suburb.
At the time of Mack’s divorce, my cousin, Mary Virginia Combs, had confided in me that my mother had given my brother $35,000 to aid in his divorce to settle his obligations to Trina Carr. So I had presumed that everything was settled and hadn’t given it any thought since moving. This was just more family dysfunction that had receded in my personal rear-view mirror.
I either misunderstood Mary Virginia’s explanation or she just misunderstood its purpose herself.
It’s likely that my mother might have intentionally misled Mary Virginia. Trina was about to inherit the property that was once part of Mary Virginia’s homeplace, as that’s where the home Mack Jr. and Trina built was located (on Reedy Creek Road).
I understood that Trina had provided a substantial amount of the funding to build that home from a trust that was established in her childhood, which was funded with an insurance settlement from the truck accident that killed her parents.
That home, nevertheless, was located on property that had been a gift to Mack Jr. and was surrendered to Trina because of Mack Jr.’s infidelity.
Mary Virginia was livid about this turn of events. Part of her prized Reedy Creek homeplace was now owned by Trina. Mack Jr. had lost a highly treasured and valuable gift from her.
I think it’s likely that my mother told Mary Virginia that she was supplying funds necessary to settle Mack Jr.'s divorce to mollify Mary Virginia’s anger.
Nevertheless, I never gave it a second thought until Mary Anne disclosed this to me in the spring of 2019, just months after my mother’s death.
Listen to Mary Anne explain the problem to me here :
Both were concerned that recording those deeds would subject my brother to claims and punitive damages by Trina and/or taxes and penalties or levies from the IRS so they were looking for a way to establish ownership without recording those deeds. Their reasoning was that if the property was sold, then those deeds would never need to be recorded, forever hiding the deception.
More significantly, this audio is evidence of the crimality and the arrogant and vindictive selfishness of my siblings, especially Mary Anne. Mary Anne was determined to hide my brother’s deception to his ex-wife and any IRS exposure for tax liability. Fraud and criminal tax evasion !!!!!!!
Moreover, as you can hear on the audio, Mary Anne independently determined that Trina had benefited enough and made her own self-serving ex parte vigilante decision to adopt a deceptive course of action contemptuous of truth, morality, ethics or law by conspiring to hide Mack Jr.'s deceptions.
This passage speaks for itself and establishes Mary Ann’s and Mack Jr.’s , manipulative tendencies along with a rejection of societal norms, a distorted view of entitlement, and a belief that they are entitled to what they desire. All are generally accepted key aspects of a criminal mind.
To me, listening to Mary Anne clarify Mack’s dilemma was akin to listening to a mobster describe the most cost-efficient way to hide a crime. Notably absent is any suggestion that Mack Jr. admit to those deceptions and negotiate an agreeable, truthful resolution.
Mary Anne deals in lies. No question about it.
Mary Anne and Mack Jr, made me an unwitting participant in their scheme for hiding assets and tax evasion. Their fear of discovery would become part of the underlying basis for a portion of the constant threats of retribution that would follow.
Understanding that I was certainly facing similar vindictive vigilante retribution, I adopted an agreeable persona while continuing to document my sibling’s conduct.
I certainly knew of the deed when my mother told me she was gifting that property and shop building to Mack Jr. However. I thought it had been settled by Mack Jr. during his divorce and hadn’t considered the IRS tax ramifications at all.
After my mother passed, Mack Jr. convinced Mary Anne my mother’s farm would soon be worth millions due to its proximity to the Pinnacle development and the construction of the Bristol casino.
So they were insistent that my brother would maintain the property and essentially live there rent free until it was sold.
Mary Anne was adamant that we should all wait till we had an agreeable offer and then sell the property. Initially I was in agreement, too.
The major issue was that asking price was nearly 3x the current appraisal and they were dead set on holding firm until a mythical "whale" arrived willing to meet their price. They were giddy with dreams of striking it rich. They believed that Bristol was certain to be the birthplace of a new Hillbilly Vegas and would soon displace Cherokee, NC as the regions go to gambling hotspot.
More significantly, if the property was sold “en masse” , that would remove the necessity for Mack Jr.’s individual deed(s) to be recorded and would reduce any suspicion from Trina that the property had been purposely omitted from the divorce affidavit and
forever hide the tax liability created by the preexisting deeds.
My own belief with respect to the property’s outsized valuation was markedly different. I had traveled extensively throughout the western states on the way to and from visits with my wife's family in Idaho. On those travels, we frequently passed and visited Indian casinos, and I hadn't noticed any significant development nearby. Many appear to be only modestly successful and seldom appear to be surrounded by a hub of successful businesses.
And I now live less than 60 miles from the LARGEST CASINO IN THE WORLD.
It's the Windstar in Thackerville, OK that is located on the first area of buildable ground that sits above the Red River flood plain after crossing the Texas Oklahoma border on I 35.
It's successful because it’s only a short drive from Dallas/Ft. Worth, which is one of the richest urban areas in the world.
Casino gambling isn’t legal in Texas, so the Oklahoma location, combined with the casino, plus a large hotel and concert venue that hosts top entertainment, drives Windstar's success.
Land in Thackerville around the Windstar casino has only modest development. I've been there and observed it myself, and it can be easily confirmed with Google Maps.
So although I doubted the wisdom of waiting for the appearance of a real estate "whale", I nevertheless went along with the plan for two years to appease and mitigate Mary Anne's threats of retribution.
During those years, she often told me that some big national retailer was considering buying the property. Walmart, Target, Kohls, and Costco are some of the names I remember. But never an offer. I think it was just more lies designed to string me along. After two years, I was tired of waiting and the lies.
My mother had established trusts for me and my and my son’s inheritance and placed those trusts under Mary Anne’s control under the terms of her will. I believe my mother thought that because I’m older, she would be able to manage the trust for me if I became incapacitated. And that Mary Anne would act in the best interest of my son if something would happen to me, and ensure that he would receive the college education she intended with funds left over to give him a head start in life.
When my mother passed, I was already a senior and my son was still a minor. Obviously, my mother would have never believed that Mary Anne would betray her trust by using the powers granted by her will to constantly lie and threaten me in order to allow Mary Anne and Mack Jr. to profiteer at the expense of my son and myself.
My sister constantly threatened me during the time she was the trustee of my estate. She always sought a financial advantage for herself and Mack Jr. More significantly, she wanted to prevent the IRS or Mack’s ex-wife from ever becoming aware of the pre-existing deeds.
Listen to my sister lie about the impending construction of a connector route that would presumably increase the value of my mother's farm.
I’m fortunate that my sister is stupid with her reflexive lying and she can often be “fact checked” without much effort. At that time, no construction had been proposed or approved by the Bristol Planning Commission, TDOT had not received requests for engineering or granted approval of such a project. Funds had not been appropriate for the purchase of any right-of-way required. And no construction was scheduled. In this case, a simple internet records search confirmed the lying. I just wish everything were this easy. "Stupid is as stupid does."
Nevertheless, I think my sister is a remarkably fluent liar.
Mary Anne called me just after Christmas 2020. I was in Idaho visiting my wife’s family.
During that conversation, I stated my desire to have my mother’s property sold and pointed out that my son would need his money for college the next year as my mother had intended.
She unequivocally stated that the property wouldn’t be sold till she was ready and repeated the often-told lies about nearby circumstances that were sure to escalate the land value dramatically.
When I told her of my plans to ask the court for a resolution by ordering a sale, Mary Anne became agitated and again repeated the often-made threats of vindictive retribution by withholding significant amounts of my inheritance if I failed to acquiesce to her wishes.
She stated that “Mack would be mad and that would be bad for me”.
When reminded that my mother had intended for my son Matthew to have his inheritance for college, Mary Anne snapped and stated that the property was her “opportunity” for a huge payday and that he (Matthew) could just get a loan.
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When I returned from Idaho in early January, I found a FedEx letter on my doorstep referencing the provision in the will that gave her and my brother control over my trust.
I spoke with her a couple of days later and again she “reminded” me of her control. I just let it go as I didn’t want to provoke her anymore. Hearing those threats again was like listening to a broken record.
Listen to that “reminder” here:
I immediately drafted a statement of my experience DOWNLOAD LINK with Mary Anne in December after my return to Texas and it was signed and notarized under oath. Additionally, I promptly made an appointment with Kingsport attorney Wayne Culbertson.
A couple of weeks later, I drove to the Tri-Cities over the MLK holiday weekend and met him that Monday at his Kingsport office. At that meeting, Wayne suggested that I not file my statement as intended and let him go to work. He was right, it was never needed.
Lisa’s mother’s death in Idaho that summer delayed me from immediately proceeding with Wayne but in September I began the process of extricating my trust from my sibling’s control.
Wayne Culbertson negotiated the removal of my siblings as trustees, and a settlement was provided via an agreed court order.
Matthew and I made a final trip to the Tri-Cities in June 2021 to complete the sale of our portion of my mother’s farm and close this ugly chapter in our lives.
I thought Mary Anne and Mack Jr were buying my share of my mother's property using their own funds, and with Jim Street joining them as an additional investor. On the long drive home, I realized something else must be up. Why did the bank have a representative at the closing? On that drive, I came to the realization that they were likely receiving loans from both Jim Street and the Bank of Tennessee.
My search of County records on file in Blountville appears to confirm this arrangement.
Did they disclose the aforementioned “hidden deed” that Mack Jr. intentionally left out of his divorce affidavit? DOWNLOAD LINK Would a latent claim still be viable? What about the latent IRS obligation? How about punitive damages and/or assessments related to this deception?
Is Rob Lawson knowledgeable about this? Would he have been a signatory to any loan application(s) as well as to the final loan documents and “good faith” disclosures? I don’t know. Mary Anne often referred to Rob as the Forrest Gump of lawyers and mocked his earnings. I don’t know what to think about that. Certainly, this is Deception by omission, her “MO” for sure. Is he complicit, complacent, or is this collusion? I have no idea.
I know Mary Anne and Mack Jr as petty, prolific, greedy, vindictive and manipulative liars who adopt a “catch me if you can” attitude toward their deceptions. I think Mary Anne is a super “Karen”. It’s obvious that their lying and selfishness cannot be constrained by truth. morality, ethics, or law.
It should also be noted that lying Mary Anne and Mack Jr. are likely not the typical subjects of this court. They both live at a level of comfort that places them squarely in the upper tier of Tennessee residents.
Neither is subject to impending economic distress or life’s insecurities that are often the root causation of many criminal activities.
I believe this makes their actions even more egregious, as it demonstrates an elevated sense of selfishness and depravity, as well as an entitlement that places them above the law.
At the very least, their own declarations offer clear and compelling evidence of their propensity for deception and casual acceptance of lying for personal gain.
If these aren’t crimes of “moral turpitude” I can’t fathom what is!
It’s sad, but I just can’t bear the thought of returning to the Tri-Cities. Just thinking about it makes me angry, agitated, and I can’t sleep. Especially remembering my sister's spiteful, vindictive attitude. On more that one occasion, I remember her looking me in the face and telling me some whopper of a lie. And then telling me that she never lies with the next breath. She obviously believed that I didn’t have any power to question her deceptive lying. That’s the hallmark of a real cunt IMHO!
She obviously thought she had total dominion over my and Matthew’s trust and we would be beholden to her forever.
This experience for Mattthew and myself was especially ugly.
Understandably, I had tried to be agreeable and kept my mouth shut, until I could get out from under their control.
Wayne Culbertson helped me get out. Thanks Wayne !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Irrespective of the outcome of justice here on earth, I know karma can surface anytime and that someday my siblings will face the all-knowing St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. Maybe my mother will be standing at the Pearly Gates with St. Peter when Mary Anne arrives. I just hope I’m out golfing with the angels on that day! No one lives a life of perfection, but I am certain my siblings' conduct will not result in the outcome they expect!
Just think! Mary Anne lied and threatened me when she was the executor of my and my son’s trusts. Those lies and threats were so self-serving and threatening that I had to hire an attorney (Wayne Culbertson) to facilitate the removal of Mary Anne and Mack Jr. as the trustees that my mother had depended on to safeguard my inheritance.
Mary Anne and Mack Jr, were removed as provided in an agreed court order (typically used when one doesn’t have any legitimate defense and agrees rather than appear before a judge in court).
Wait till she inevitably has to explain that to St. Peter and my mother at the gates of heaven! Even if she gets in, I’m sure she won’t be residing in a place of honor.
She deals in lies, half-truths, false equivalencies and more. I think she’s lower than a snake’s belly in a wheel rut. Mary Anne depends on darkness to hide her lying and cheating.
On November 6th, 2023 my cousin Mary Virginia Combs died.
To give some context, I’ll give a brief history of my relationship with Mary Virginia.
In many ways, Mary Virginia was like a second mother to me. We had many adventures together. She accompanied me to Calgary in 1995 when I had surgery there. We stayed in a motel on Crowchild Trail, which is on the west side of town.
After the outpatient surgery she stayed at the hotel with me and accompanied me back to the surgeon's office for the required follow-ups. And she made sure I always had food and Cokes. Fortunately, as the recovery took hold, we had time for sightseeing.
We visited the site of the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics and drove to Banff. While in Banff we had lunch in the dining room at the historic Banff hotel. It was late April and off-season there, so we were nearly alone in the massive dining room that overlooks the golf course. During our meal, we saw what appeared to be the biggest moose in Canada stroll down the deserted fairway! Our meal was so memorable, with the Paul Bunyon sized proportions, that we always joked about it anytime we had dinner together.
After I moved to Bristol in late 1997 we spent quite a lot of time together. My mother’s time was occupied with her husband, Mack Sr., his construction business, son Mack Jr., his wife, and granddaughter. They participated in sports, which occupied a lot of their time.
So I often hung out with Mary Virginia. She lived alone, and so did I. I helped her with her farms, purchases from the internet, and more.
I helped her with LOTS of farm projects. Some are especially memorable.
For example, one year she wanted the fence painted around the house on her Ready Creek farm/homeplace but was dismayed with the painter’s quote. So I offered to do it. I bought paint (she insisted on oil-based paint, and it was really expensive), and I rented a sprayer for the job. An extra paint additive was required in the sprayer as a thinner and lubricant.
Then I proceeded with the job. What a mess! Although I eventually finished, both the fence and the grass surrounding were white. So was my hair, and I trashed the Tyvek suit and goggles purchased for the project. After a few cuttings (hair and grass) I was back to normal and the fence looked pretty good too! However, I smelled like a refinery for weeks. Exxon No.5 Perfume.
Irrespective of the magnitude of success or failure, Mary Virginia and I always found merriment in the trying.
Most weeks, we had dinner at the Olive Garden in Johnson City on Thursday. We’d discuss the news, weather, UT sports, family drama and our individual business challenges. She always had unexpected farm situations that had materialized and I had challenges in my business too. We would laugh, cry, and console each other. Then we would leave with a full stomach and optimism for the coming weeks.
Through my courtship with my wife, Lisa, and the birth of our son, Matthew, I seldom failed to have a weekly dinner with Mary Virginia. It was a delight and a welcome escape from my hectic life.
Additionally, Mary Virginia usually visited my mother on Sunday night. It was a routine that had continued from my childhood till my mother’s death in 2018.
When I lived in Bristol, Mary Virginia would walk across the driveway to my home/apartment after visiting my mother, and we would sit for hours researching stuff on the internet.
I was pretty savvy with searching for products and travel when the internet was new and still foreign to Mary Virginia’s and my mother’s generation. Moreover, I was the only one in the family with fast broadband, and could quickly view the multitude of options.
I was often commandeered for shopping and searches by my mother and Mary Virginia. Also I helped them with ordering as neither had a Paypal account, which was a must in the early days of online shopping and especially needed on ebay. So I would order their purchases and they would reimburse me..
Mary Virginia and my mother were delighted with this arrangement as I would also handle any disputes that might arise. And when a return was necessary, I’d handle that too. I had both a FedEx and UPS account so returns were easy and economical for me to manage and I became their personal return center.
Over the years, I ordered tons of stuff for both, however, Mary Virginia was the largest spender by far. I ordered stuff for Mary Virginia’s farm (I remember ordering a particular strain of grass from a supplier in Kentucky), and hard-to-find parts for the restoration of her 1957 Thunderbird. I sourced original Ford parts for that restoration from specialty car restoration suppliers in California that had supplies of original parts. Often they arrived in original 1957 Ford packaging!
I ordered lots of clothes too. Mary Virginia was especially particular about clothes and wore a difficult to find narrow size shoe. We would look up the options for styles, colors and sizes. Most always she would want to “think about it” for a few days. After she made a decision, she would call and I’d order.
And when the boxes arrived, I’d drop them by her home or she would drive down and pick them up.
Mary Virginia was an avid traveler. Often she wanted to visit friends and relatives in McLean, Virginia, Hackensack, New Jersey, another group of friends in New Jersey, her mother’s sister's (Ruby),daughter Ann in Sarasota (they grew up together in Bristol within blocks from of other). Yearly visits to a hearing doctor in Philadelphia and later to a hip surgeon near Princetown, NJ and more. And she took a couple of cruises a year too.
Typically, we’d research flight options on Sunday night. When visiting friends, Mary Virginia was especially sensitive to not being a burden on her hosts, so schedules were important. For example, her friends in NJ (Dorthy and Godfrey) were piano teachers, so she always wanted to arrive before 2 pm. Arriving after school was dismissed for the day would disturb their teaching schedule. Arriving later wasn’t an option as they usually had students till nearly 10 pm or so and were exhausted by then.
Mary Virginia would note the schedules and fares of the flights that appeared to be the most agreeable. Then during the week, she would confer with her hosts and then call and tell me what to book. I would complete the bookings quickly to lock in the fare and schedule.
Occasionally, I would drive her to those visits, as that was an opportunity for me to get out of the Tri-Cities. Driving gave us plenty of time together to discuss the world situation, UT sports possibilities. family and lots more. And there were some wild adventures too. Once I drove her to McLean, Virginia. As we arrived that night, a massive rainstorm began. Mary Virginia had forgotten the paper where she had noted her host’s phone and address. But she remembered the street name as she had been there before. We eventually found the street and spent over an hour driving up and down that street in the driving rain until she recognized her friend’s home.
When we pulled into the driveway, her hosts (who apparently had been looking for us) ran outside with huge umbrellas to greet us and help Mary Virginia get her belongings inside. I proceeded to the nearest available motel and immediately passed out.
Another time, I drove her to New Jersey to visit the Swazie(sp?) family at their camp in Northern New Jersey. We left Bristol at 7 a.m. and it was a magnificent day with agreeable traffic, so we arrived in Midtown Manhattan by 6:30 pm and dined at America’s café (a favorite of mine in NYC). After dinner, we proceeded to search for the camp in where the hell are we Northern New Jersey. When we finally arrived, it was well past midnight. I don’t remember falling asleep on their massively uncomfortable sofa, but I do remember being rewarded with a tremendously painful back the next morning.
We had many other similar adventures. Some even had agreeable outcomes! All the adventures provided hours of jovial reflection at our weekly dinners.
Because I usually had a flexible schedule, Mary Virginia frequently called me with requests to pick up stuff for her. Especially the heavy stuff, which was difficult for her to manage. Cat litter/food, garden items, bulk foods, fertilizer, and stuff for the farm were common purchases. After she would call with a request, I’d pick stuff up the next day or so and deliver it to her home, often carrying it to the rear porch or basement.
I almost always paid for those purchases or travel with my credit cards or Paypal. Like a bartender, I’d just keep a tab and check her out once or twice a month when she would write a check to cover reimbursements.
I earned a massive amount of credit card points for all those purchases. That was my “bonus” as the credit card points could be redeemed for frequent flyer miles. I used those miles to fly to Zurich for surgery, for a trip to Italy for Lisa and me, and a couple of family trips to Lisa’s parents’ home in Idaho Falls, allowing my son to spend time with his grandparents and Lisa’s brother’s family.
Mary Virginia had given Mack Jr. property on her Ready Creek farm for a home and helped him with the purchase of a front-end loader, and so she also helped fund the reestablishment of my photography business. I was especially thankful for that!
Additionally, she took Lisa and myself on a cruise in Asia in 2006. It was an awesome adventure for all.
Mary Virginia Combs died on November 6, 2023 She lived at 1107 Holston Avenue in Bristol, Tennessee. Except for a stint at the University of Tennessee’s Sophia Strong residence hall, she lived there from birth till she was moved into some type of assisted living by my brother and sister.
Mary Virginia suffered from a series of strokes after I moved to Texas in 2014. During my trips through Bristol enroute to my event photography projects I would nearly always stop for a visit or an encore dinner at the Olive Garden.
Every year, I observed significant declines in her
reasoning and memory.
Her hip pain had returned and she confided
to me that she was increasing her use of
pain pills.
That was in addition to her consumption
of “stroke pills”.
My mother passed in November 2018. In January 2019 I returned to Bristol. During that visit, I recorded a video with Mary Virginia as I wanted to preserve some family history before her memory declined any further.
Her memory issues and the stroke damage are on display in the video below and she also comments on her stroke damage. More significantly, she couldn’t remember details of our weekly dinners together by her own admission.
It cannot be imagined the amount of sadness I felt realizing that she had lost many of the memories of our time together.
In June 2021, my son and I stopped by for a visit. My son had been looking forward to that visit as he is an avid student of Japanese language and culture and wanted to hear about Mary Virginia’s trip there. Unfortunately, although she was able to confirm that she had made that trip, she couldn’t recall many details.
At some point, I suggested that my son ask her about the cruise Lisa, Mary Virginia, and I had taken in 2006. I was distraught that she couldn’t remember that cruise at all! Those wonderful memories of that cruise were irrevocably lost from her mind forever!
Understandably, Matthew and I were saddened to observe the decline in her mental condition, and that became a major topic of discussion on our drive back to Texas.
However, those memories still live with Lisa and me. The following are some photos from our Asia cruise in 2006.
During the next few years, I only sporadically kept in touch via phone and was saddened to hear her decline in speech and memory. Often I would let the phone ring as she was frequently asleep and had hearing problems. When I was able to make contact, our conversations were short. She just couldn’t talk for more than 10 to 15 minutes before becoming too exhausted to continue.
After an extended time when my efforts at contact were unsuccessful, I sent the above email to Mary Anne and Rob Lawson. After weeks without a reply, I asked Earl Carter to drive by her home and make contact for me. He found that she was no longer living at her home for 94 years.
According to a neighbor, Mack Jr.’s daughter and husband had recently moved in and were cleaning the house out.
Mary Virginia had been moved to assisted living or hospice care.
That’s when it hit me. She must be nearly at the end of life.
Mary Anne and Rob hadn’t responded to my email, and had made no effort to apprise me of her worsening condition so I knew something must be up.
I didn’t want to disturb Mary Virginia, so I just prayed for her nightly. We had been really close. I felt that if I tried to make contact, I would again bear the brunt of Mary Anne’s ugly, spiteful, vindictive lying, and because I couldn’t see the benefit of engaging with her, I just let it go.
Mary Virginia deserved to die in peace, and I wasn’t going to provoke any potentially upsetting drama. She was a wonderful, kind person. Like a mother to me. I always smile when I think of our adventures together. Now that she’s reunited with her mother, father, and brother, I sincerely trust that she’s in a better place.
I found the notice about her death via Google. I had frequently checked the Herald Courier website, but never found it there.
I think it’s pathetically manipulative beyond belief that Mary Anne, Mack Jr. or Rob didn’t notify me of her final sickness and death.
Think about that! If they didn’t have anything to hide, why the secrecy? Obviously, they didn’t want me to know Mary Virginia had passed. And the names of living relatives are
conspicuous by their absence in this notice.
I then realized that Mary Anne and Mack Jr. must be back to their ugly, deceptive, greedy selves.
"The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble" (Proverbs 4:19)
Didn’t Mary Anne, as trustee of Mary Virginia’s estate, have a fiduciary obligation to notify all next of kin of her death? Doesn’t the trustee’s lawyer have a similar obligation to make a good-faith effort to notify close relatives?
After I found out that Mary Virginia had passed, I called Wayne Culbertson and he got a copy of Mary Virginia’s will from the court for me.
I was astounded to note a will had been provided to the courts that was dated at about the same time as she was removed from her home of 94 years. And that Mary Anne and Mack were the only beneficiaries. I assume Mary Anne’s husband Rob Lawson prepared the will and submitted it to the court.
At first, I wanted Wayne to immediately file a motion to contest the will, but after he told me I had two years, I realized that I should take my time and gather more information.
I’ve spent months searching my collection of hard drives for responsive files (I have nearly 200 drives, a photography / video business eats up storage!). Because the transcripts of my calls with Mary Anne from 2020 weren’t that great, I had the recorded calls re-transcribed.
Fortunately, the newer AI assisted transcripts are much better and by re-reading those transcripts, I now understand the level of deception from Mack Jr. and Mary Anne in greater detail. It's taken months !
In the interim, I’ve done a lot of research on mental issues with ageing and now understand that it’s a medical sub-specialty.
More importantly, I realize the effort and depravity needed to hide Mary Virginia’s death from me.
In the January 2019 video Mary Virginia admittingly couldn’t remember most of our time together during the past two decades by her own admission.
I believe that my deceptive, lying siblings, Mary Anne and Mack Jr., likely used coercive lies to induce provoked confabulation in Mary Virginia to confuse and replace memories in order to enrich themselves by enticing her to name them as the only beneficiaries in a new will.
Certainly, this would be akin to the self-serving coercive lying and threats made to me during Mary Anne’s tenure as the trustee of my inheritance.
Their conduct has the earmarks of a cunning and premeditated attempt to hide my cousin's death from me and allows them (Mack Jr. and Mary Anne) to collude and divert Mary Virginia’s entire estate to themselves, thereby denying benefits to all intended beneficiaries previously named in her will.
To me, it’s strikingly similar to their efforts in hiding Mack Jr.’s assets from Trina, the IRS and maybe even to the Bank of Tennessee and Jim Street.
According to my count, their are 7 living relatives with the same family relationship to Mary Virginia as Mary Anne and Mack Jr. have. Many have children, too. Not a penny for anyone else! That’s not the Mary Virginia I knew!
Her “new” will LINK (signed October 28, 2020) omits many of the detailed instructions of her previous will, which she spent nearly a decade detailing to me during numerous dinner conversations. It was signed about 21 months AFTER the 2019 video.
Mary Virginia’s previous will had been constructed with an accountant’s precision. She planned for gifts to be distributed not only to Mack Jr., Mary Anne and myself but also to cousins Beth and Beckey in Florida as gifts to defray the cost of education for their children or grandchildren, a gift to my son for his education costs that she frequently detailed to him directly and confirmed to my wife.
I remember gifts to a local charity, church, and especially to the University of Tennessee.
In her youth, Mary Virginia was an accomplished piano player. It’s a common avocation of mathematicians and physicists.
As an example, the Santa Fe symphony is highly respected as many of its musicians are physicists or other scientists employed full-time at the nearby Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Mary Virginia was especially proud of her education at UT in the 40’s/50's and frequently commented that many of her classmates and professors had been involved in the success of the Manhattan Project at Oak Ridge.
Similarly, Mary Virginia was mathematically gifted. I’m sure accounting gave her a similar career satisfaction.
Her home was built in 1926 and featured a room at the front of the house that was always referred to as the music room. It was the home to a Baby Grand Piano. Purchased for Mary Virginia in an age when individual ownership of such a magnificent instrument was a rarity.
Mary Virginia began playing as a child, and during her youth, the piano was a constant love. In an era before the advent of TV and when recorded and broadcast music was a novelty, the piano made her home an oasis of music on a busy street.
Her dad died while she was a child and the death of her beloved brother in WWII was especially traumatic for her and her mother.
She confided to me that playing the piano in the evening after those deaths helped them keep the gloom at bay and gave them hope in the decades that followed. She enjoyed playing for her mother and the piano music brightened their days.
In the 60’s when I was in elementary school, Mary Virginia and her mother would visit our home every Sunday night for a family visit and to watch TV as they didn’t yet own one. When “Bonanza” signed off they would head home. During the rest of the week that piano was their entertainment!
When “The Torchbearer” (UT alumni magazine) announced the expansion of the UT School of Music, Mary Virginia was ecstatic about the news. (It was around 2008 or so, if I remember correctly.) Finally, that School would get the recognition it deserved, and the new purpose-built facility would be a far cry from the dreary practice rooms she knew as a student . This was a constant topic of our weekly conversations for years.
She was especially proud that the Haslam family had done so much to make the upgrade a reality and noted that their gift would also fund the school’s purchase of a quantity of Steinway pianos for the practice rooms.
She told me on many occasions that if she had a “do over” she would return to UT and study piano in that new facility, and reflected on what a thrill it would be to practice on those Steinway pianos.
Understandably, she was proud that her will would include a gift to UT from her estate as a token of gratitude and to memorialize her time there.
Although her gift would be nowhere near the magnitude of the Haslam’s and those of other distinguished graduates it was nevertheless important to her to join the ranks of those UT benefactors. Many of whom she remembered from her time there.
This gift is omitted from that “new” will that was signed 3 years before her death, only about 14 months after she acknowledged the deleterious effect her strokes had on her memory.
This haunts me and wakes me up at night. I woke at 3:30 am to begin typing here! More than anything, it’s a massive red flag.
I think of how much my sister lied to me during the administration of my trust. And I think of how much easier it would be to lie to and confuse an elderly aunt who suffered from a series of debilitating strokes.
And I remember Mary Anne’s smirks when she told me a whopper or made threats to me while relishing in the smug satisfaction that she felt, believing she would always have control of my trust.
I think Sullivan County law enforcement and its courts need to take a close look at this!
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When relocated to Texas in the summer of 2014, Mary Virginia was already into the last chapter of her life and was especially conscious of her mortality. Nearly every time we dined together, she reflected on her mortality and age.
Mary Virginia’s mother died in the 80’s, her father in the 30’s in a farming incident, her brother was shot down over Italy in the waning days of WWII. He mother’s siblings, Mabel, Gertrude, Ruby, Pearl, John and Frank were gone and she felt like the last of a dynasty.
Understandably, she was especially aware of how the aged could suddenly fall victim to unexpected health issues.
Pearl, her mother’s sister, had lived on St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands for much of her life, but after a paralyzing stroke Mary Virginia and her mother went to the Virgin Islands to retrieve and relocate her back to Bristol. Pearl spent her final years in Mary Virginia’s home.
If she had wanted to change her will I think she would have much earlier. She wasn’t the type to procrastinate about stuff like that. She wouldn’t have waited until she was frightened and frail.
As an example, after the first of every year, she would relentlessly nag me for my bookkeeping information so she could prepare my tax return. When I finally got my information to her, she always had the completed schedule(s) ready for filing within a day or two. No procrastination!
It may be significant that Mary Anne and Mack Jr., had not yet hit the “jackpot” with a sale of my mother's farm. I think it’s likely they had become increasingly concerned with money issues.
The following is a scan from my brother’s divorce affidavit on file with the Sullivan County Clerk.
Apparently, Mack Jr, agreed to pay an additional “bounty” upon the death of his mother and Mary Virginia. This would undoubtedly add to his financial burden. Is this a common feature of a divorce settlement?
At the time of his divorce, Mary Virginia confided to me that he got “taken to the cleaners” for his philandering and deceit.
I don’t know where the truth lies. Or what might or might not be significant. But it should be noted that Mary Anne’s marriage to attorney Rob Lawson hasn’t deterred her from participating in lying and deceit.
Therefore, I have concerns about Rob Lawson. Especially about his knowledge during Mary Anne’s administration of my trust. Did he know about her conduct? Did Rob maintain an agreeable and potentially beneficial complicity that’s just removed enough to maintain plausible deniability?
What about required disclosures to the FDIC insured Bank of Tennessee during the loan application and closing process for the loan used to purchase my share of my mother’s farm? What about disclosures to Jim Street? Did they disclose that part of the equity securing their loan might be subject to superior claims from Mack Jr.’s ex-wife and/or the IRS? Was my sister successful in keeping the information about Mack Jr.’s unrecorded deeds from Rob?
Finally, what was the extent of Rob’s participation in the preparation of and in securing Mary Virginia’s signature on her final will, which I presume he authored.
Rob would have been a direct beneficiary of a significant portion of Mary Virginia’s estate if Mary Anne had predeceased him. He’s scarcely a neutral third party. Is this legal? Ethical? I don't know.
Mary Virginia was 93 at the execution of that will and the signing is less than 2 years removed from the January 2019 video. It’s difficult for me to believe that her memory was sufficient to recall her final wishes.
In that January 2019 video she acknowledged the deleterious effect of strokes on her memory.
When Matthew and I visited her in June 2021, she only remembered the trip to Japan when prompted and even then couldn’t recount details of that visit. And she couldn’t remember the 2006 Asia cruise with Lisa and myself. Surely that’s an indication of significant cognitive decline and of not being of sound mind and body.
Therefore, I cannot fathom that she could comprehend the complexities and disbursement changes in the new will. Given my sister’s and brother’s previous deceptions, I’m especially suspicious of their conduct and the timeline of the will’s completion.
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I live in the Dallas metro area and don’t want to return to the Tri-Cities. So this is my attempt to “crowd source” an investigation.
There’s just a lot of stuff I don’t know. Some I believe and other stuff I don’t know. To summarize:
I am sure Mary Anne is a liar. No question about that. She repeatedly lied and
repeatedly threatened me during the time she was the executor of my trust.
I’ve got recordings and documents that support that conclusion. You
can listen to them yourself. She’s a selfish, manipulative liar. Case closed.
Mack Jr. is an opportunist and a liar, too. Lied to his ex-wife and to my mother.
Got taken to the cleaners in his divorce. Enough said.
Rob Lawson (Mary Anne’s attorney husband). I like Rob and he may be
an unfortunate bystander to this shitshow. But I couldn’t possibly know.
I know my sister is a clever, persuasive liar, however, he should be attuned to that as
he’s an attorney. So I’m understandably conflicted.
Certainly, he knew the condition of my aged cousin, Mary Virginia, and knew
her mental state before drafting a new will for her. And he stands to
benefit from that will.
Moreover, I think Rob should have had the cajónes to have responded to my email and apprised me of the condition of my cousin Mary Virginia. Maybe Mary Anne
has him buffaloed? If everything is legit, why the secrecy? Understandably,
this is a big question mark for me.
My cousin Mary Virginia Combs. The most important person. I miss her and truly regret that she ended up at the end of life with few options. And found herself at the mercy of my sister.
I’m sure she was mentally damaged by the strokes and more during the last years
of her life and would have been easy prey for liars.
And I’m especially sad that I found myself impotent to intervene.
All I can do now is to honor her memory by making sure that liars don’t commandeer
the physical remains of her life and circumvent her final wishes.
I can’t sleep at night for thinking about this. Something tells me this is wrong. I hear my sister lie in my sleep and I often awake before 4 am in a state of agitation.
I believe that given these irregularities, it’s incumbent on the Sullivan County Court to review this matter and exercise its role as the “finder of fact”.
If you have relevant information, please contact me at joewillisfrisco@gmail.com. If you want to talk just let me know a good time to call and I’ll get back to you
Truth dies in Darkness. Don’t dig it’s grave in Bristol. If you know something, say something.
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PS I am seeking a specialist Tennessee attorney with extensive experience in wills and the application of “undue influence”. Experience in dealing with prolific liars is
mandatory. Knowledge or contacts with expert medical professionals having
significant experience with the aged who would be available to examine the medical,
pharmaceutical and care records of Mary Virginia Combs is a given. Additionally,
someone who has experience in recovering punitive damages for egregious criminal
conduct would be a plus. If qualified, please contact me
Many Thanks.
