Oak Ridge Today

Obituary: Steve Hutchison

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Steve Hutchison

Steve Hutchison

Steve Hutchison, age 57, of Clinton, passed away suddenly on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013, at his residence.

Steve was a loving husband, father, and grandfather. God and church was his priority in his life. He was a member and pastor of Charity Baptist Church in Clinton. Steve loved the outdoors, especially scuba diving, hiking, and anything that had to do with nature.

Steve is survived by his parents, Cecil and Betty Hutchison of Knoxville; wife, Teressa Hutchison of Clinton; sons, Aaron Hutchison and wife Amy of Georgia, Javan Hutchison of Knoxville; brothers, Rex Hutchison of Knoxville, David Hutchison and wife Carol of Knoxville, and Scott Hutchison and wife Desa of Clarksville; sister, Glenda Crowder and husband Robert of Knoxville; and grandchildren, Ava and Noah Hutchison. Steve also leaves behind several nieces, nephews, and a host of other relatives and friends. [Read more…]

Obituary: Shelly Lowe

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Shelly Lowe

Shelly Lowe

Shelly (Pratt) Lowe, age 47, of Heiskell, passed away Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2013, at Tennova North in Powell due to health complications.

Shelly enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren and making and selling jewelry. She made many friends while working as a waitress at Sagebrush and other restaurants.

She was preceded in death by her father, Bart Pratt; son, Christopher Davis; sister, Kimberly Pratt; grandparents, Della and George Cox, and June Pratt; aunt, Katherine Elkins Stahlhood; and uncles, Rufus Cox, and James and Ben Griffith. [Read more…]

Obituary: Edwin Nolan

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Edwin Nolan, age 74, of Clinton, passed away, Monday, Nov. 4, 2013, at Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge.

He was a member of Shultz Hollow Baptist Church in Lake City. Edwin was preceded in death by his parents, Chester and Jessie (Stewart) Nolan; wife, Bertha Nolan; son, Edwin Nolan Jr.; brother, Clyde Nolan; sisters, Christine Bridges and Mable Mounce; and son-in-law, Steve Alcorn.

He is survived by son, Ricky Seiber and wife Gena of Lake City; daughters, Karen Scarbrough of Knoxville, Ruby Ward and husband Jack of Oliver Springs, Debbie Alcorn and fiancé Robert Simmons, both of Clinton; brother, Avery Nolan of Clinton; sisters, Frankie Bonjour of Clinton, Helen Hart and husband Russell of Clinton, and Betty Horn, of Indiana; 13 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and a host of other relatives and friends. [Read more…]

Obituary: Rev. R. Boyd Carter

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R. Boyd Carter

R. Boyd Carter

The Rev. Dr. R. Boyd Carter, minister emeritus of the United Church, Chapel on the Hill in Oak Ridge, died peacefully at home Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013, after a very brief illness.

Dr. Carter was born in St. Louis, Mo., on June 15, 1940, to Marjorie and Fredric Carter. He was predeceased by his parents and brother, Dale Carter.

He is survived by his wife, Susan; brother, Glen and wife Pamela Carter of Mattoon, Ill.; son, Richard and wife Yvonne of Jacksonville, Fla.; step-daughters and husbands, Elizabeth Paige and Perry Brooks of Bend, Ore., and Amy Paige and Tim Callahan of Seattle, Wash.; and two grandchildren and eight step-grandchildren.

Dr. Carter came to the United Church in 1984 with 25 years of experience ministering to both Methodist and Continuing Congregational Churches in a number of states in the Midwest. He claimed to have been drawn to the Chapel on the Hill by an advertisement seeking a “liberal minded” minister to fill a position in a historical church in Oak Ridge. According to Dr. Carter, “I never expected to make a 23-year career here in Oak Ridge.” He attested that the wonderful people and vast experiences he encountered have made the time seemingly fly by. [Read more…]

Obituary: Gearl Gene Asher Sr.

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Gearl Gene Asher Sr.

Gearl Gene Asher Sr.

Gearl Gene Asher Sr., age 78, of Oak Ridge, passed away Aug. 13, 2013.

He was born in Barbourville, Ky., on Aug. 15, 1934, to parents Wilke C. and Arizona Asher. He was a graduate of Barbourville High School and attended Union College in Barbourville, Ky.

He received a scholarship to the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky., for undergraduate and graduate studies. As a student at U of L, he was president and business manager of the Division of Bands, head athletic trainer for major sports, president of Phi Kappa Omicron [Music Fraternity] and member of Phi Alpha Delta [Law Fraternity]. While attending U of L, Mr. Asher created and introduced “COLONEL CARDINAL, the original University Mascot.”

He moved to Oak Ridge after his father’s death in the late ’50s, joining his uncle, Garrett Asher, as sales agent with Ridge Realty Co. While with Ridge Realty, he was directly involved with the planning, submission, and approval of “The Oak Cliff PUD,” Oak Ridge’s first planned unit development. [Read more…]

Obituary: Nancy Karen Cross

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Nancy Karen Cross

Nancy Karen Cross

Nancy Karen Cross, 55, of Oak Ridge, passed away Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013, at the Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge.

Nancy was a security specialist and worked 27 years, most recently for BJOR at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

She was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on April 17, 1958, the daughter of Rice and Mary Nelms Cross.

Nancy graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 1976 and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Nancy enjoyed family, friends, and her beloved pets, Pepper and Chase. [Read more…]

Obituary: Hazel Sutton Butler

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Hazel Sutton Butler

Hazel Sutton Butler

Hazel Sutton Butler, age 89, a resident of Oliver Springs, passed away Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013, at Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge.

Mrs. Butler was born Oct. 26, 1924, in Sparta, Tenn., before moving to Oak Ridge, then later to Oliver Springs where she and her husband co-owned and operated Butler’s Florist from 1955 to 1997.

She was an avid bowler and participated in bowling leagues for many years. She also loved playing basketball, and she played on the Y-12 team in the Tennessee Eastman league, winning the Southern Appalachian AAU championship during the 1946-47 season.

She was a member of the Oliver Springs United Methodist, where she was active in the United Methodist Women, holding offices in both local and district levels. [Read more…]

Obituary: Eather West

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Eather West, age 86, a resident of Oliver Springs, passed away Sunday, Nov. 10, 2013, at his home.

Mr. West was born Nov. 21, 1926, in the New River Community of Anderson County. He and his family moved to Oliver Springs in 1963. Before the move to Oliver Springs, Mr. West worked as a underground coal miner, and he also drove coal trucks for Ruben Phillips Trucking, and Walls and Coker.

Following several years of employment, Mr. West retired in 1988 as a foreman at the Tennessee Valley Authority location in Claxton. He and his late wife, Omer Phillips West, owned and operated West Florist in Oliver Springs for more than 40 years.

Eather proudly served his country in the U.S. Army, during World War II. While serving, he received several campaign medals, ribbons, decorations, and citations, including the WWII victory medal. [Read more…]

Obituary: Rachel Mildred Beadle Holt

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Rachel Mildred Beadle Holt

Rachel Mildred Beadle Holt

Rachel Holt, of Oak Ridge, died with her family at her side and peacefully of natural causes at Greenfield of Oak Ridge on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2013. She was 91.

Rachel Mildred Beadle was born March 21, 1922, in Giles County, Tenn., the first and only daughter of Raymond Beadle, a farmer and storekeeper, and Nannie May Russell Beadle, a homemaker, who also had seven sons but two died as infants. Rachel spent happy childhood years with her five brothers in the rural village of Campbellsville and later Pulaski in Middle Tennessee. She was an ambitious and energetic child who helped raise three younger brothers, worked in the family grocery store, and made her mark as an eager and serious student and skillful basketball player.

After high school, with financial help from a brother Lawrence, a naval officer, Rachel attended Martin College in Pulaski, Tenn. Rachel’s childhood girlfriend, Ethel Holt, introduced Rachel to John Cecil Holt, a brother home on leave from naval service, and the relationship blossomed quickly. Upon graduation from Martin College, Rachel took a job as a clerk in the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington, D.C. She left that job to marry John in Charleston, S.C., on Aug. 19, 1943, and she occasionally traveled by train across the country to rendezvous with him. Rachel gave birth to their first daughter, Reba Rae Holt, on March 28, 1945, in Yorktown, Va. [Read more…]

Obituary: William Courtenay ‘Bill’ Davidson

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William Courtenay "Bill" Davidson

William Courtenay “Bill” Davidson

William Courtenay “Bill” Davidson died Sunday morning, Nov. 10, 2013, at Greenfield Senior Living of Oak Ridge, where he had resided for a short time.

The son of Mary Ann and the late Jackson B. Davidson, Bill was born in Oak Ridge in 1954 and attended Cedar Hill Elementary, Jefferson Junior High, and Oak Ridge High School, from which he graduated in 1972. He was active in Scouts and received the Order of the Arrow. He attended Eckerd College in Tampa, Fla., and later graduated from the University of Tennessee with honors and a major in French.

He was preceded in death by his father and his sister Anne Courtenay Davidson; also six uncles, Nathaniel (and his wife Mary), Robert, William, Hugh (and his wife Loretta), and Lee Davidson and William H. Courtenay. [Read more…]

Obituary: Peggy Joyce McDaniel La Grone

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Peggy Joyce McDaniel LaGrone

Peggy Joyce McDaniel LaGrone

Peggy Joyce McDaniel La Grone, age 73, died peacefully in her sleep on the morning of Sunday, Nov. 10, 2013, after a lengthy illness.

Known by family and friends alike as “Diggy”—a name given by her eldest grandchild—Mrs. La Grone lived a full life rich with family love and service to God and community. She never met a stranger, though she traveled the world following her upbringing in Panola County, Texas.

She was born Dec. 3, 1939, to Herman Victor McDaniel and Ethel Gertrude Hightower McDaniel at Antioch community, in the deep piney woods of East Texas. Her life’s joy was family and friends, most especially her children and grandchildren. Mrs. La Grone taught high school English early in her career and continued to be a part-time educator during her homemaking years, raising three children and working as a tireless volunteer. In later years, Mrs. La Grone was her mother’s and her grandchildren’s caregiver.

She was a faithful member of the United Methodist Church and served as president of the United Methodist Women and was deeply involved with peace works and social justice through Church Women United. Throughout her life, she taught Sunday School and led vacation Bible schools. [Read more…]

Obituary: Lillian Melba Walton

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Lillian Melba Walton

Lillian Melba Walton

Lillian Melba Walton, 93, of Kingston, formerly of Oak Ridge, passed away on Nov. 8, 2013, at Jamestowne Assisted Living in Kingston.

She was born April 20, 1920, in Lincoln Park, Mich., to parents Milton E. and Bonnie M. Emmonds Lavy.

Lillian was a homemaker who enjoyed crocheting, bird watching, and cooking, especially for her family. She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and a member of Bethel Presbyterian Church in Kingston.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Frederick E. Walton and daughter, Sharon Kay McGill. [Read more…]