Tammy Wynette: Even in death there’s controversy
Fourteen years after Tammy Wynette was buried, everyone received the surprise that the original name “Tammy Wynette” was removed from her tomb in the Woodlawn Cross Mausoleum. The marker was replaced with “Virginia W Richardson.” Her birth name is Virginia Wynette Pugh, with Richardson being her fifth husband, George Richey, real name. George is in an unmarked drawer above hers. The name change was apparently authorized by her children and stepchildren, according to stepdaughter Deirdre Richardson-Hale. Georgette Jones-Lennon, Tammy and George Jones daughter, spoke about the controversy:“Deirdre called my sister and relayed a message to her that it would be legally necessary, just temporarily, for us to change Mom’s name [on her tomb] to her maiden name,” said Jones-Lennon, “and that [the change] was in regard to things that were going on regarding Sheila, Richey’s widow.
“We did agree, but we wanted Mom’s name to be changed temporarily to her maiden name, which we thought was going to be ‘Virginia Wynette Pugh.’ Of course, as you can see, it was changed to ‘Virginia W Richardson,’ which was not what we agreed to. I won’t speak for all of us, but I can say my sisters Tina, Jackie and myself are very upset.”
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