Oak Ridge Today

Obituary: Emma Lou Gallaher-Kline

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Emma Gallaher Photo
Emma Lou Gallaher-Kline

Emma Lou Gallaher-Kline, age 82, of Harriman, Tennessee, went to be with the Lord on Saturday, August 3, 2019, at Parkwest Medical Center.

Emma was born on May 23, 1937, to the late Remus and Mary Magdalene Gallaher.

Emma was preceded in death by her husband Reverend James Leroy Kline Sr. She was also preceded in death by her brothers, Johnny, Remus, Andrew, Fred, Glenn, and J.B. Gallaher; sisters, Mary Elizabeth and Ethel Gallaher; and a special aunt, Minnie Love.

Emma was a devout follower and lover of the Lord. She loved to cook, garden, and spend time with her family and church family. Emma was affectionately known as “Granny” to all; she was simply the definition of love.

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Obituary: Young Hogan Etheridge

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Young Hogan Etheridge (December 9, 1943-May 12, 2019): A man without limit, with original energy. Out of Ashley County, Arkansas toward Raasay, Edinburgh, Dublin, Paris, and others; seeking things true and untrue, unafraid to know; telling tall tales, unconstrained by “facts”; drinking Beaujolais Nouveau, fully breathing the grapes and the land; whistling unmistakably; endlessly reading Pratchett, Twain, Rowling, Dickens, Doyle, Stout; curious, always curious, listening intently to all of the music of the universe; great-grandfather of Marley; grandfather of Ruth, Adrian, Seth, Jacob, Carina, Dalton, Lucy, Garrison, Stella, and Annie; father of Allen (Suzanne), Allise, Jennifer (Vance), Sam (Yvonne), Amos (Lari), and Jon (Mary); husband of Katherine (love without limit and without end). Weatherford Mortuary in charge of the arrangements. An on-line guestbook can be signed at www.weatherfordmortuary.com.

Obituary: Mira Ryczke Kimmelman, Holocaust survivor

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Mira Ryczke Kimmelman

Mira Ryczke Kimmelman, 95, of 969 West Outer Drive, died peacefully at home at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17.

Mira’s long and purposeful life was dotted with tragic events and redeeming joys. She was born on September 17, 1923, in the seaside resort of Zoppot, a suburb of the free City of Danzig. Her father Moritz was a grain merchant and her mother Eugenia dedicated herself to raising Mira and her younger brother Benno.

This happy life came to an abrupt end in 1939 when the Nazis invaded Danzig and drove Mira and her family from their home, first to ghettos in Warsaw and Tomaszow Mazowiecki, then to concentration camps Blizyn-Majdanek and Auschwitz, and thereafter on a horrific death march to Bergen-Belsen, where Mira was liberated and reunited with her father. Sadly, her mother and brother did not survive the Holocaust.

In 1946, she met another survivor, Max Kimmelman, who had lost his wife and daughter in the Holocaust. They married on May 19, 1946, in Germany. With the assistance of family in Cincinnati, Ohio, they were able to immigrate to the United States and arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio, on August 2, 1948.

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Obituary: James Edward ‘Ed’ Westcott

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James Edward "Ed" Westcott

James Edward “Ed” Westcott

James Edward “Ed” Westcott, Sr., 97, of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, passed away peacefully at his daughter’s home, where he lived, on March 29, 2019.

He was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on January 20, 1922, to parents Jamie Rupert Westcott and Lucille Green Westcott, who preceded him in death. Ed had one brother, Hugh “Buddy” Westcott, who also preceded him in death.

Ed was a member of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church.

He grew up in Nashville, and he graduated from Andrews High School and attended the Watkins Art School in Nashville, Tennessee. He received his training in photography from the Photo Craft Studio, Shadow Art Studio, and from an internship with the National Youth Administration.

He was married June 16, 1941, to a former Nashvillian, Esther Seigenthaler Westcott, who passed away in 1996. [Read more…]

Funeral is Saturday for Williams, who fought to integrate CHS in 1956

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Alfred Williams

Alfred Williams

 

Alfred Williams, one of the Clinton 12 students who fought for the integration of Clinton High School in 1956, died Thursday, March 14. He was 83. His funeral is Saturday.

“On behalf of the Green McAdoo Cultural Organization, the City of Clinton, and the State of Tennessee, we extend our heartfelt condolences to the family of Mr. Alfred Williams,” Green McAdoo Cultural Organization said in a statement. “Alfred passed away at The Waters Nursing and Rehabilitation Facility on March 14, 2019, surrounded by family. He was one of the Clinton 12 students that fought for the integration of Clinton High School in 1956, blazing a trail for all black students to achieve equal education under the law. He went on to work in the city school system and became one of the friendly faces of Clinton Elementary School and the ‘candy man’ until his retirement. He will be missed by family, friends, and all those blessed to know him.” [Read more…]

Obituary: Lois E. Callaghan

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Lois E. Callaghan

Lois E. Callaghan

 

Lois E. Callaghan, 96, a longtime resident of Oak Ridge, died February 24, 2019, peacefully at her home following a brief illness. At her passing, she was surrounded by children and grandchildren who were blessed by her unconditional love and unwavering faith.

Until the last two weeks of her life, she was a tireless supporter of her church and community and a source of strength and inspiration for her family and friends.

“Lois was a pillar of St. Mary’s parish and touched many lives in Oak Ridge,” said close friend Pat Zanolli. “She was a loyal friend and nurturing mother who will be lovingly missed.”

A devout Roman Catholic, Mrs. Callaghan initiated development of the Perpetual Adoration Ministry at St. Mary’s Church. With her parish partners, she fostered this ministry for almost 20 years. Decades earlier in 1958, she and her husband commissioned a marble statue of the Virgin Mary on the parish grounds that was sanctioned by the diocese Bishop as Our Lady of Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Obituary: Harriet Sirena Hawkins Cofer

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Harriet Sirena Hawkins Cofer

Harriet Sirena Hawkins Cofer

Harriet Sirena Hawkins Cofer, 91, of Oak Ridge, passed away Friday, August 24, 2018, at the Courtyards of Oak Ridge.

She was the fourth child of nine born to James Dillard Hawkins and Lillie Gentry Hawkins of Jackson County, Tennessee.

Mrs. Cofer was a faithful servant of the Lord and a Charter Member of Highland View Church of Christ. She loved flowers, hummingbirds, and antiques, and she was an excellent cook and accomplished seamstress. She was also a very talented porcelain painter.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Harold DeWillis Cofer, in 2012. [Read more…]

Celebration of Life to be held Saturday for Frank ‘Pappy’ Sewell

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Frank Sewell

Frank Sewell

 

A Celebration of Life will be held for Frank “Pappy” Sewell, age 64, of Oak Ridge, who passed away Friday, July 13, at his home. The event will be held Saturday, August 4, at Calhoun’s in Oak Ridge from 1 to 4 p.m.

Frank served our country in the U.S. Navy. He retired from Anderson County government after 32 years and became director for Knoxville Recycling Coalition, where he worked for seven years. Frank also was a drummer and played with the West Side Cats and Mojo Tweed.

He is preceded in death by parents, Bill and Frances Sewell; his brother, Billy Sewell; and sister-in-law, Mary Sewell. [Read more…]

Memorial Service: Scott Hunter

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Scott Hunter, 66, died unexpectedly last Thursday, July 26, at his home in Oak Ridge.

A Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, August 2, at 6 p.m. in the Sanctuary of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike, with a reception to immediately follow, in the Social Hall.

Obituary: Linda L. Patchett Brown

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Linda Brown

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…]

Former Supreme Court chief justice who once worked in Oak Ridge dies at 85

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Tom Beehan, Cornelia Clark, Gary Wade, Riley Anderson, and Sharon Lee

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…]

Obituary: Eula Wills Holland

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Eula Holland

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…]