Oak Ridge Today

Obituary: David Wayne Presnell

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David Pressnell
David Wayne Pressnell

David Wayne Pressnell, 58, of Oak Ridge, passed away Tuesday, August 27, 2019, at Methodist Medical Center.

He was born May 28, 1961, in Oak Ridge, the son of Jerry Dwight Pressnell and Peggy Jo Sutton Pressnell.

David graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 1979 and earned his
bachelor’s degree in operations management from the University of Tennessee. He was employed with Information International Associates Inc. (IIA), where he was a technical recruiter.

David was a long-time member of Central Baptist Church of Oak Ridge and attended Crossroads Christian Church in Claxton, where he was active in church fellowship. He was an avid golfer and fisherman. In earlier years, he loved playing racquetball. David also enjoyed coaching at Girls Inc. and the Boys Club. Most precious to him were his four grandbabies.

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Obituary: Helen Louise Sklad

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Helen Sklad
Helen Louise Sklad

Helen Louise Sklad: Daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother

Helen Louise Sklad, nee Muniak, passed away on Saturday, August 23, 2019, at the Alexander Guest House in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

She was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1923 to Joseph and Anna (Prozeck) Muniak. She was one of nine children—John, Joseph, Walter, Louis, her twin sister Mary, Chester, Edward, and Stella. She attended Saint John Cantius Catholic School and graduated from Jane Addams High School. During World War II, she worked at Jack and Heinz Inc., making airplane parts to aid the war effort. In the 1950s, she worked at Sklad’s Grocery Store in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where, among other things, she ran the soda fountain, and she later worked for the Catholic Cemeteries Association in Cleveland, Ohio.

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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…]

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…]

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…]

Roane County Commissioner Steve Kelley of Oak Ridge dies at 63

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Steve Kelley

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…]

Vann, who started girls basketball team at ORHS, died Friday

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Sudartha Vann

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…]

Obituary: Robert William Holmberg

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Robert William Holmberg

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…]