Oak Ridge Today

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…]

Obituary: Mary Jane Kelley

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Mary Jane Kelley, age 67, a resident of Oliver Springs, passed away Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013, in her home at Big Mountain.

Mary was born Oct. 7, 1946, in Fackler, Ala. She has lived in Oliver Springs for the past 20 years.

She served her country in the United States Air Force for more than 20 years. While serving, she received several medals, ribbons, citations, and commendations including a Bronze Star with four oak leaf clusters for her service in Desert Storm. Additionally, her primary specialty was an information management craftsman, for which she received other medals and ribbons. [Read more…]

Obituary: Sylvestia Hardy Hopper

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Sylvestia Hardy Hopper departed this earthly life on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013, following several years battling Alzheimer’s.

She was born in Briceville, Tenn., the youngest of eight girls to the union of Joe and Mary Moore Hardy.

Mrs. Hopper was preceded by her loving husband, Benton Hopper; son, Jimmie Hopper; and by sisters, Eva Hardy, Estella Hardy Cross, Elizabeth Hardy, Irene Cobbs, Annie Wyatt, Hattie Phipps, and Mary Ellen Hardy.

She was a faithful and dedicated member of Little Leaf Missionary Baptist Church. She enjoyed quilting, feeding the farm hands, playing the organ, attending patiently to the grandchildren, and she had a great love for animals. She was lovingly known as “Big Valley” by Richard (Tony) Goins Jr. [Read more…]