Sue Hammons Adkins was born Aug. 16, 1933, in a log cabin in the Dyllis Community of Roane County.
She grew up playing on a fast pitch softball team, whose record was 300-0 when she left. She played basketball on a championship team at Oliver Springs High School with teammates, Barbara Lockette, Dorothy Hall, and Myrtle Chapman, to name only a few. They have all remained friends to this day.