Note: This story was updated at 11:30 a.m.
Harry “Whitey” Hitchcock, who represented part of Oak Ridge in three terms on Anderson County Commission, died January 10. A former teacher, he was 76.
Hitchcock served on Anderson County Commission from 2006 to 2018. He represented District 6 in Oak Ridge, including the City Hall, Robertsville, and West Hills voting precincts.
At the request of Commissioner Catherine Denenberg, the Anderson County Commission had a moment of silence in honor of Hitchcock during their monthly meeting on Tuesday, January 17.
Later in the meeting, Anderson County Commissioner Tracy Wandell said he appreciated Hitchcock’s friendship and leadership.
“He did a lot of things in a short amount of time,” Wandell said. “He always did things that made our county better.”
Hitchcock was instrumental in work related to the county’s Conservation Board and in getting justice grants that help Anderson County inmates “get back out and be productive citizens,” Wandell said. “He always was committed to those things.”
Hitchcock’s obituary said he was a life-long learner and teacher and an avid amateur mycologist (someone who studies fungi, which include mushrooms) for more than 20 years.
“I always called him Dr. Shroom,” Wandell recalled fondly. “He always messed with those mushrooms, and I didn’t know a thing about them.”
Hitchcock taught anatomy and physiology at Clinton High School for 16 years before retiring, according to his obituary.
Born in Montgomery Alabama, Hitchcock served in air photo intelligence in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War, and he got his nickname during the war, his obituary said. He had bachelor’s and master’s degrees in forestry and a doctorate in exercise physiology, and he was strength and conditioning coach for the 1987 NCAA Champion Lady Vol basketball team, according to his obituary.
He later earned a secondary science teaching certificate, taught at CHS, and received numerous teaching and service awards, the obituary said.
Learn more about Whitey Hitchcock in his obituary here.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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