Oak Ridge Today

Obituary: John A. ‘Smokey’ Diggs

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John A. “Smokey” Diggs of Clinton, passed away peacefully Saturday, Oct. 19, at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge following a brief illness.

He was born in 1939 to Margaret “Mutt” Cox Diggs and Arville Frank Diggs, both of whom preceded him in death.

He was a graduate of Lake City High School and Carson Newman College. He taught and coached football at Coalfield High School and Lake City High School. He and his wife, Linda, opened the stained glass studio, Pieces of Glass, in Oak Ridge in 1982.

Although retired, he continued to work part-time in the business. [Read more…]

Obituary: T.R. Williams

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T.R. Williams, age 69, of Kingston, passed away Friday, Oct. 18.

He was born Oct. 13, 1944, in Newport, the son of O. L. and Pauline Click Williams.

Mr. Williams retired from Martin Marietta Energy Systems, where he was a supervisor at the K-25 plant.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Anna Williams of Decatur, Ala. [Read more…]

Hubert Owens

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Hubert Owens

Hubert Owens

Long-time Oak Ridger and World War II Veteran

Hubert Owens, age 91, son of George L. and Lula Owens, passed away on Oct. 19, 2013.

Mr. Owens was born in Crenshaw County, Ala., on Nov. 14, 1921. He was a former employee of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Technical Information Branch, where he worked for 30 years until his retirement on Feb. 28, 1983.

Mr. Owens served in the U.S. Navy 40 months at the Pearl Harbor Submarine Base, and with Admiral Bull Halsey’s Third Fleet in the first Naval bombardment of the Japanese mainland on the USS Chicago, a Baltimore Class heavy cruiser, during World War II.

Mr. Owens formerly worked for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company as an agent when he and his newlywed bride, Reba Inez Owens, first came to Oak Ridge in December 1948. Later, in 1949, he became manager of the Reserve Life Insurance Company of Dallas, Texas, in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Betty Sue Dunning

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Betty Sue Dunning

Betty Sue Dunning

Betty Sue Dunning, 84, of Oak Ridge, passed peacefully on Oct. 18 after a long illness.

She was born Sept. 15, 1929, in Dardanelle, Ark., to the late John Cary (J.C.) and Rosa Lee Bowman, the seventh of nine children. The family was engaged in farming, and later moved to Wyatt, Mo., where she graduated from Diehlstadt High School in 1947.

She is a graduate of the St. Mary’s Hospital School of Nursing in Cairo, Ill., and spent a long career working as a registered nurse, most recently at Oak Ridge Hospital of the Methodist Church (now Methodist Medical Center) and Ridgeview Psychiatric Hospital in Oak Ridge.

On April 26, 1952, she married the love of her life, the late Donald E. Dunning, of Cairo, Ill. They enjoyed 58 years of marriage together, until his passing in 2010. The couple lived in Paducah, Ky., and in Cairo, Ill., before moving to Oak Ridge in 1960 with their three young children. [Read more…]

Arminta M. Robinson

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Arminta M. Robinson

Arminta M. Robinson

Arminta M. Robinson, age 98, of Oak Ridge went home to be with the Lord on Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, at the Brakebill Nursing Home.

Ms. Robinson was born Jan. 15, 1915, in Kingston to the late Robert Christian and Alyce Kelsay Ladd. She left her East Tennessee home and went to work at Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, N.M. Upon her retirement from Sandia National Laboratory, she returned to her beloved East Tennessee and moved to Oak Ridge in 1978.

She was a dedicated member of Kern Memorial United Methodist Church and an active member of the community and touched so many lives with her deep concern for others and her wonderful positive spirit. [Read more…]

Ferdinand ‘Fred’ Mignogna

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Ferdinand “Fred” Mignogna, age 79, a resident of Oliver Springs, passed away Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, at Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge.

Mr. Mignogna was born Oct. 1, 1934, in Lawrence, N.Y. He continued living in New York until his move to Oliver Springs in 1993.

Fred was a retired auto mechanic and he attended St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Oak Ridge. He was a U.S. Army Veteran who served during the Korean Conflict.

He enjoyed watching baseball, football, and NASCAR. [Read more…]

Virgle O. Reeder

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Virgle O. Reeder, age 75, a resident of Harriman, passed away Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013, at Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge.

Mr. Reeder was born Oct. 23, 1937, in the New River Community of Anderson County. During his early childhood, the family moved to Oliver Springs. He later lived in Hazel Park and Madison Heights Michigan before moving back home to Tennessee in 1969.

He retired as a utility engineer at the Y-12 federal plant in Oak Ridge.

Virgil was an outdoorsman who enjoyed flower gardening, feeding and watching hummingbirds, and watching NASCAR. [Read more…]

Helen Faye Roberson

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Helen Faye Roberson, age 84, of Oak Ridge, passed away Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013, at the Methodist Medical Center.

She was born Dec. 12, 1928, in Blackey, Ky., the daughter of John Preston Adams and Hassie Fields Adams.

Mrs. Roberson retired from the Oak Ridge school system, where she worked in the school cafeteria. She was a long-time member of Robertsville Baptist Church where, in earlier years, she was active in the Mothers Day Out program and involved in the childcare programs. She was also an avid animal lover.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by husband Kenneth Emanuel Roberson on Nov. 1, 1981, and by three brothers. [Read more…]

Walter F. Ohnesorge Jr.

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Walter F. Ohnesorge Jr., age 83, of Oak Ridge, died Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013, at Parkwest Medical Center in Knoxville.

He was born Aug. 12, 1930, in Corder, Mo., the son of Walter F. Ohnesorge Sr. and Florence Mary Seuser Ohnesorge.

An avid naturalist, reader, hiker, fisherman, jazz enthusiast, and ham radio operator, Walt attended radio school after high school and worked for the railroad in Missouri as a telegrapher at a rural station and in surrounding states. After serving in the army during the Korean War, he graduated from William Jewell College and then studied health physics at Vanderbilt University, before beginning a 30-plus year career in that field at Oak Ridge National Laboratories.

He married Mary E. “Pat” Maloy in 1961, and they raised their two daughters in the Karns Community outside Knoxville, until Pat’s death in 1988. [Read more…]

Kathleen Elaine Gilmore

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Kathleen Elaine Gilmore, age 59, a resident of Harriman, passed away Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013, at the Parkwest Medical Center in Knoxville.

Mrs. Gilmore was born May 21, 1954, in Harriman. She moved to California at an early age, moving back to Tennessee in 1980.

She worked as a customer service representative for Sitel of Oak Ridge.

Kathleen loved life, enjoyed laughter, and spending time with her family. Her hobbies included dancing, art work, oil painting, crocheting, and sewing. [Read more…]

Sandra Ann ‘Sandy’ Kimblin

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Sandra Ann "Sandy" Kimblin

Sandra Ann “Sandy” Kimblin

Sandra Ann “Sandy” Kimblin, age 76, a resident of Harriman, passed away Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013, at Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge.

Mrs. Kimblin was born Oct. 20, 1936, in Coalfield. She was a lifelong resident of this area.

Sandra was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She was a member of the Orchard View Baptist Church.

Before her retirement, she was employed as a barrier operator at the K-25 federal plant. [Read more…]

Sandra Sue (Conley) Yahr

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Sue Yahr

Sue Yahr

Sandra Sue (Conley) Yahr of Oak Ridge died Oct. 10, 2013, at Methodist Medical Center.

Sue is survived by her loving and devoted husband of 51 years George Terry Yahr of Oak Ridge; her sons and daughters-in-law Fred and Christy Yahr, and Keith and Beth Yahr; and grandsons Sam Yahr, Jake Yahr, and Allen Yahr, all of Knoxville.

Sue was born to Rose Ella (Troutman) Conley and Jeter Carl Conley on June 2, 1943 in Dublin, Va., the eighth of nine children. Three of her siblings, D.W. Conley, Ginger (Conley) MacFarland, and Jack Conley preceded her in death.

Siblings Christine (Conley) Weems, Velma (Conley) Jackson, Mary Ruth (Conley) Chapman, Ed Conley, and Wayne Conley survive Sue. [Read more…]