Amber Lee Barbee

Amber Lee Barbee, 49, of Chattanooga TN, passed away unexpectedly on April 9th, 2026. Amber was a kind hearted mother of five trying to navigate a difficult road in life. She spent her early years living with her father Larry Dewayne White, her mother Teresa Kay Williams, and playing with her sister Angela Renee Barbee on the banks of the Tennessee River in Suck Creek. She would attend school at John A. Patten and Hixson in her youth. Shortly after high school she welcomed her first child, Christopher Dakota Cantrell, to the world. Followed by her first daughter, Teresa Brooke Lovern just 3 years later. After meeting Shayne Thurmond they would have their first child together, Eric James Thurmond followed by his brother Evan Tanner Thurmond and finally the addition of a sister, Layla Grace Barnes. Amber was a caring and thoughtful person who almost always greeted you with a smile and a hug. She was charming, funny, and had an infectious laugh that could fill the room. Her children were the light of her life and she loved them dearly whether they were near or far. She was also a complicated person who struggled with internal conflict from generational trauma that would leave her life marred by hardship. Tragically, she would lose her two eldest children, Dakota and Brooke in 2017 and 2021, followed by the death of her longtime partner Shayne in 2022. Amber was also preceded in death by her parents Teresa Kay and Dewayne. She is survived by her remaining children Eric, Evan and Layla; sister Angela Barbee and brother Jonathan White; nieces and nephews Kaylee Goins, Jayca Owens, Hayden Owens and Gwyneth White; grandchildren: Hayden, Levi-Wade, and Creed, as well as numerous step-siblings and great nieces & nephews.
The family will have a memorial visitation on Monday, April 20, 2026, from 5:00-7:00 pm ET at Evans Mortuary in Rockwood, TN. Cremation arrangements have been made and an additional service will be held in Chattanooga later, and times will be announced.