Jan Burress
Janice “Jan” Hall Bates Burress (Dec. 27, 1941 – Dec. 2, 2004) was Scott County Circuit Court Clerk who died in office of cancer in 2004.
Biography
Born December 27, 1942, Jan Hall was the daughter of Sam Hall (1918-2006) and Truie Marine “Maxine” Duncan (1923-2017) of the Paint Rock community. She was one of eight children. Her brother, Bill Hall, was Scott County Director of Schools. Her sister, Sheila Hall Buttram, was one of the first women to serve on Scott County Commission. Her brother-in-law, Tony Sexton, served on the Scott County Board of Education and was Scott County Assessor of Property at the time of his death in 2020.
Burress married James Alton Bates (1940-1961). Originally from Alabama, Bates moved to Scott County as a teenager. He and Burress had two children together: daughter Debra and son Randy. Bates was killed on March 28, 1961, at the age of 20, when he was crushed by a falling boulder at a job site in the Stinking Creek area of Campbell County. He was working for Nashville-based Burton Construction Co. Another man, Orville Hall, 35, of Crossville, was also killed in the accident.
Burress remarried and had two more children: daughter Tracey and son Jason.
Circuit Court Clerk
Burress was elected Scott County Circuit Court Clerk in the 1994 election, defeating incumbent Irene C. Chitwood.
Burress had run against Chitwood in the 1990 election, losing 3,176 to 2,802. Despite the loss, Burress finished strong, and won several precincts, including Paint Rock, Huntsville and Helenwood. Chitwood was able to win the 1st and 2nd Districts by large margins, in addition to her native Winfield, to help her secure the election victory.
In 1994, Burress won the 1st and 2nd Districts, and won every other precinct except Winfield. She defeated Chitwood 4,565 to 3,254.
Burress was subsequently re-elected in 1998 and 2002. She ran without opposition in both of her re-election bids.
Death
Burress died of cancer on December 2, 2004. She had approximately two years left in her term at the time of her death. Scott County Commission appointed former county executive Verda “Buddy” Cope Jr. to finish out her term. Law enforcement veteran Donnie Phillips — the twin brother of future Scott County Sheriff Ronnie Phillips — was elected to the office in the next election, held in 2006.
A funeral service was conducted on December 5, 2004 at Paint Rock Baptist Church with pastor Dean Barnes and Burress’s son, Randy Bates, officiating. She was buried at Sexton Memorial Cemetery in the Paint Rock community.