Linda Brown
Linda L. Patchett Brown passed away at the age of 76 on July 29, 2018, at her home in Oak Ridge after a long 10-year fight against metastatic breast cancer. She never gave up, but finally lost the fight.
She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Walter K. Brown; two sons, David Walter Brown and wife Amy Jean and their children, Tanner, Savannah, and Sierra, and Roger Kermit Brown and children, Elias and Gabriel; and her favorite dog, “Sugar,” who went to work every day with her.
She is also survived by sister, Patricia Garver and husband Billy and their children, Jason and Angie; brother, Larry Kermit Patchett and wife Mary Lou and their son, Lance, and several brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law and their families in Casey, Illinois.
Linda was raised in Casey, Illinois, by parents Kermit and Eileen Patchett, who are both deceased. [Read more…]
Pictured above at Razzleberry’s Ice Cream Lab and Kitchen in Oak Ridge on Thursday, July 31, 2014, are, from left to right, former Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia Clark, former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Gary Wade, former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Riley Anderson, and Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Edward Riley Anderson, a former Tennessee Supreme Court chief justice who once worked and volunteered in Oak Ridge, died Wednesday, July 4, after a long fight with cancer. He was 85.
Anderson was born in Chattanooga but moved to Knoxville as a child, according to his obituary. He graduated from Central High School and received his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Tennessee.
After law school, in 1958, Anderson became the first associate at the Oak Ridge law firm of Wilson & Joyce, according to the Tennessee State Courts website. Frank Wilson and Gene Joyce would have a major impact on his life, the state said in a news story posted online.
“I couldn’t have had two better mentors to go to,” Anderson said in that article. “I think it’s important to have that when you’re a young lawyer and you’re malleable. You’re going to be influenced by whoever you associate with. I couldn’t have been more fortunate in my choice of mentors.”
When Wilson left the firm after his appointment to the federal bench, Anderson became a managing partner, and the firm was renamed Joyce, Anderson, and Meredith, the state courts news story said. [Read more…]
Eula Holland
Eula Wills Holland of Kingsport, Tennessee, born September 2, 1923, at Silver Lake, Tennessee, passed away Tuesday, March 6, 2018.
Eula was a gracious and hospitable Southern lady who exemplified the attributes of I Corinthians 13 to all who knew her. She was born a farm girl who love the mountains and lived life to the fullest. Eula will be remembered by her family and friends as a loving, caring and compassionate wife, mother, and friend.
Mrs. Holland was a member of First Broad Street United Methodist Church. She was a committed Christian who enjoyed attending several Bible studies. Eula used her God-given talent of being an award-winning recipient in penmanship to share her faith. Her ministry was sharing her beautiful penmanship through notes to the sick, bereaved, and those celebrating special occasions. She treasured the company of her cherished friends, Chris Blue and Jan Larkins. Her greatest joy in life was her son, Walter.
Eula was a graduate of Steed College. She and her husband owned and ran several businesses including Holland Oil Company, Holland Texaco, Oak Ridge Equipment Rental, and Tri-City Equipment Rental to name a few. She served as an executive assistant in the engineering department at Holston Defense Corporation in Kingsport. During World War II, Eula transferred to the Oak Ridge, Tennessee, installation of the secret Manhattan Project where the material for nuclear explosives was refined. [Read more…]
Steve Kelley
Roane County Commissioner Steve Kelley, an Oak Ridge resident, died Wednesday evening, February 21. He was 63.
Kelley, who lived on Oklahoma Avenue in Oak Ridge, represented District 4 on the Roane County Commission. That district includes the Oak Hills, Oliver Springs, and Orchard View voting precincts. Oak Hills is in west Oak Ridge.
Kelley was on the Budget Committee appointed by Roane County Executive Ron Woody.
“He was a great Budget Committee member,” Woody said Sunday. “He will be dearly missed as a Budget Committee member and as a Roane County Commissioner.” [Read more…]
Sudartha Vann
Sudartha Ellen Vann, who started the girls basketball team at Oak Ridge High School and coached the first sanctioned game in 1973, died Friday, February 16. She was 81.
Born in Radford, Virginia, on December 5, 1936, Vann graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 1955. After graduation, she worked for the Oak Ridge Recreation Department as a playground director for two years at Woodland Elementary School.
Later, she earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee in 1964 and a master’s degree in 1970. She taught health and physical education at Oak Ridge High School for 30 years, according to her obituary.
Vann was a good athlete, and she loved basketball, her obituary said. She participated in the 1954 and 1955 Southern Appalachian Basketball Tournament at Chilhowee Park. These teams were comprised of Oak Ridge Church League players and coached by Margaret Gotshall. Vann earned numerous relay medals swimming at the Oak Ridge Municipal Pool at the ACAC swim meets, where large crowds would gather to watch swimmers compete from several southern states, and she played softball for more than 10 years for the Kerns Methodist team. [Read more…]
Robert William Holmberg
Robert William Holmberg, 94, who spent his career as a chemist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, passed away Tuesday, June 20, 2017, four months after the death of his beloved wife, Reba Justice Holmberg.
Bob was born in 1923 to the late Elmer and Ida (Barquist) Holmberg in Fort Dodge, Iowa. He developed an early curiosity in science and especially chemistry, which included setting off at least one explosion during a chemistry experiment in his home. He graduated from Iowa State University with a BS in Chemistry in 1944. As a student there, he began working on the Manhattan Project at the Ames Laboratory. Eventually drafted into the Army, after a short basic training, he found himself plucked from the ranks to join the Army’s Special Engineer Detachment and was sent to wartime Oak Ridge.
Bob’s first job in Oak Ridge was in a research division at Castle on the Hill (now known as DOE Headquarters). [Read more…]
Pauline Hance Bishop
Pauline “Polly” Hance Bishop, 89, was born in the Sandy Ridge area near Dandridge, grew up in Chestnut Hill, and attended Maury High School in Dandridge, where she was the captain of the district-winning basketball team in her senior year.
She studied at Draughon’s Business College prior to her marriage to John C. Bishop. The couple met on a bus ride, where he was arriving in Chestnut Hill while designing/building a conveyer system at Bush Bros. Canning Factory and she was leaving to attend business school in Knoxville. Their romance began when John purchased Pauline’s pie at a church “pie supper” for the then huge amount of $5, and she ate pie with the winning bidder. They were married and moved to Oak Ridge, where John had earlier worked at the then World War II secret city.
Pauline was known to her many friends as Polly and to her granddaughter Brigid as MomBish. She was active in her church and in the community. She served in many capacities for Trinity’s Methodist Womens group and sang in the church choir. She was Room Mother for 1st-5th grades while her son attended “old” Linden Elementary and was Den Mother for the Cub Scouts. She sang with the Sweet Adelines, was a member of Beta Sigma Phi sorority, a board member of Oak Ridge Employees Credit Union, and represented the Oak Ridge Credit Unions Association at state meetings in Memphis. Her longest running contribution was her many years of work with the Contact Helpline. [Read more…]
David L. Baker
David L. Baker, 76, of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, passed away on March 16, 2017, due to health issues with family by his side.
David was born at home in Maryville, Tennessee, on February 2, 1941.
MSGT Baker retired from the U.S. Air Force after 20 years of service for his country. During his service time, he served in Vietnam, Philippines, Italy, and Thailand. He was stationed in numerous places around the world.
After his service, he came home to Oak Ridge, where he lived the rest of his days fishing. Many knew of him as “The Walking Man of Oak Ridge.” On March 16, 2017, David hung his walking shoes up for the last time. [Read more…]
Steve Jenkins, former Oak Ridge finance director and deputy city manager, died Tuesday after battling cancer, according to his obituary. He was 67.
Jenkins grew up in Middlesboro, Kentucky, where he became a life-long University of Kentucky basketball fan. “He enjoyed nothing more than watching and attending UK games with his children and grandsons,” his obituary said.
Jenkins graduated from Clinton High School (1967) and the University of Tennessee (1971).
After beginning his career in finance at Carson Newman College, he moved his family to Oak Ridge, where he began a 26-year career at the City of Oak Ridge as finance director and deputy city manager.
After retiring from the city in 2012, Jenkins took a finance position at ETHRA in Knoxville, making many new friends who very caringly supported him through his illness, the obituary said. [Read more…]
Photo courtesy Amanda Caldwell
Note: This story was last updated at 10:40 a.m.
Dr. Gene Caldwell, a retired pediatrician and former Tennessee state representative, died Saturday, March 4. He was 84.
Caldwell, a beloved pediatrician who often said he was the luckiest guy in the world, died at NHC of Oak Ridge from congestive heart failure, according to his obituary. He would have turned 85 in 10 days.
Caldwell, a Democrat, served three terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives, representing the 33rd District from 1996 to 2002.
“Gene Caldwell was a great public servant and did much for our community,” said Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican. “He will be missed, but his contributions will live on.”
The district lines have changed a bit since then, but at the time, the 33rd District included part of Anderson County, including Oak Ridge, Clinton, and Norris, said Jim Hackworth, who is also a former state representative in District 33. Caldwell preceded Hackworth.
“He was a good friend and will be sorely missed,” said Hackworth, who served the district for eight years.
Caldwell and his family had moved to Oak Ridge in 1966, when he began his practice with the Children’s Clinic of Oak Ridge. He retired in 1994 after 27 years. [Read more…]
Wayne Provence
Samuel Wayne Provence, age 84, passed away February 4, 2017, at the Christian Care Center in Mesquite, Texas.
Originally from the Ball Camp community in Knox County, he lived an humble life as a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He and his wife, Pat, were married for 63 years and served Baptist churches in Tennessee and North Carolina.
Wayne graduated from Karns High School, and he held a Bachelor of Arts from Belmont University and a Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. [Read more…]
