Christine "Cricket" Sitton

Our beloved mother, Margaret Christine “Cricket” Wilson Sitton, of Pisgah Forest, North Carolina was at peace at home surrounded by family when she left to go home to the Lord on Good Friday, April 3, 2026. She was 87 years “young” and young at heart is how we will always remember her. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 55 years; Perry Lee Sitton, daughter; Sandra Ann Sitton, and son; Stephen Leigh Sitton.

She was born in Gatlinburg, Tennessee on January 28, 1939, to Max G. and Lela M. Moore Wilson.

Cricket was a bright light in this world from the very beginning. She was an incredibly funny and harmlessly mischievous, hard-working, fearless “farm girl”, but anyone who knew her knew that she was so much more than that. She was a star basketball player in high school (perhaps aided by her “Amazon” height and build,) and a whiz at mathematics and accounting. Because she excelled at these things, she was offered a scholarship to Mars Hill College, but instead of pursuing those dreams, she took the humble, and perhaps more difficult path of becoming a God-loving, selfless, deeply devoted wife, and mother-who-could-capably-do-anything (and did.)

As a young child who often followed her father as he worked (as a ranger and federal government employee as a telephone foreman in the Smokemont district, Cricket learned how to wire telephone networks, electricity, and the like (she also sometimes manned the fire towers), and utilized those skills for the rest of her life in building her own home and in helping others. When they moved here to Pisgah Forest in 1948, Max worked for Charlie Picklesimer, owner of Citizens Telephone Company in Brevard, as a telephone foreman, and both Lela (Cricket’s mother) and Cricket worked there as telephone operators during Cricket’s teens. Growing up on a farm as she did, required a strong and disciplined work ethic. She woke up early to do chores before school, learned skills like driving tractors, working with chainsaws, doing mechanic work, building construction, animal care, keeping gardens, food preservation, and all else farm life entails. Being such a curious and brightly gifted child meant that her father had to be very creative in his “gentle-parenting”. He never forbade Cricket from doing anything, but instead used tricks like removing the spark plug from the chainsaw and his truck (both she quickly figured out how to reinstall), removing every other picket out of the picket fence that surrounded their yard (because she had learned to walk all the way around the yard on them),etc. As a teen, Cricket spent a good deal of time with the Picklesimer family and occasionally went with them on trips to the lake, where she water skied without informing them that she couldn’t swim. And yes, this was Cricket in a nutshell.

From her mother’s mother, her Granny Moore, she learned the art of healing with local herbs, to forage for wild edibles, and she passed this wisdom along to anyone who wanted to know it. Cricket is widely known as a strong and wise mountain woman, gifted not only with practical sense and knowledge, but also with the kind that has largely been forgotten.

But what she valued most was God, and the depth of love that she gave, and the life that she lived, deeply reflected Christ, and humbly set the example. For that, we are most grateful. She was a member of Turkey Creek Baptist Church for many years, serving wherever there was need, as was her way anywhere she went. She will be missed deeply, as she was loved deeply, but we know that she is home with our Lord, and we will someday see her again. 

She is survived by three of her children; Perry F. Sitton of Pisgah Forest, Gregory M. Sitton of Pisgah Forest, and Jennifer L. Quinn (Alvin) of Pisgah Forest. Five grandchildren; Cameron F. Sitton of Brevard, Derwood L. Sitton of TX, Lela D. Henson of Pisgah Forest, Adrianne O. Woods of Arden, and Micah P. Quinn of Pisgah Forest, step grandson; Alvin L. Quinn Jr. (Bridgett) of Greenville, SC, and seven great-grandchildren, sisters; Eva M. Hutchins (Pete) and Judy Morgan, sister-in-law and best friend, Betty Stiles, Helen Baker, Peggy Justus (Bob), Jeanne Sitton, Susie Waldrop (Ronnie), and brother-in-law; Harold Sitton (Anna) and numerous nieces and nephews.

Funeral services for Christine Sitton will be held will be held at 2:00 PM, April 8, 2026, at Turkey Creek Baptist Church, Pisgah Forest, NC with Rev. Shannon Owen officiating. The family will receive friends from 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM.

Burial will follow at Blue Ridge Gardens of Memory.

Moore-Blanchard Funerals & Cremations is honored to be serving the family.