Timothy E. Myrick died peacefully at the age of 60 on Sunday, December 14, 2014, at his home in Powell after a year-and-a-half battle with cancer. An engineer who had worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and SAIC, he was well known in Oak Ridge as an award-winning, model community leader and volunteer. Many also called him a teacher and friend.

He and his wife Teresa were honored on April 29, 2014, for their “lifetime of commitment to the people of Oak Ridge and Anderson County.” He was recognized as the only volunteer who helped construct each of the 59 homes built by Habitat for Humanity of Anderson County since its inception in 1992.

At the time, a successful fundraising campaign had been launched to support the construction of a 59th house in Myricks’ honor. The new Honorary Myrick Build is located in Heiskell, not far from the Myricks’ farm, where they had grown Christmas trees that they donated to the American Cancer Society for fundraising and to the Holiday Bureau.

A few weeks ago, Myrick received the Bill Wilcox Bow Tie award from Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties to honor him as “community leader, volunteer, teacher, husband, and friend.” Myrick was on the ADFAC board for 12 years and served as its president for 10. He also helped craft a long-range plan for ADFAC and provided matching funds for a house build. [Read more…]