Van Blair

Van Blair
818 Bridle Court
Seymour, TN 37865

Occupation: Retired, Knoxville Utility Board
Spouse: Debbie - Retired Seymour Family Physicians/Summit Medical Group
Children: Shannon - 38, Scott - 34
Grandchildren: Aidan - 4 years, Alex - 22 months
Pet: Brady - My Red Dachshund and good buddy

Comments: I retired from Knoxville Utility Board in January 2010, after working as a foreman, in the Transportation Department for 32 years. My life has truly been blessed. I have a great wife (married 39 years) two wonderful children and two precious grandchildren. Shannon is married with two children. She graduated from Maryville Collage and earned her masters and EDS from LMU. She is the Librarian for Seymour High School, in Sevier County. Scott is married, he graduated from ETSU with a degree in Mass Communications, he is currently working for the North American Mission Board and living in Alpharetta, Georgia. We have lived in Seymour,TN for the last 36 years. We are all healthy and happy.
In our retirement stage, we are enjoying babysitting our youngest grandson Alex, three days a week,
doing some traveling and enjoying the Smoky mountains. I would enjoy hearing from former classmates.

David Miller

David was killed just before graduating from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and getting married.

Ronald Atkins

Ronald was in a local nursing home when he died. My memory of Ronald was that he was a big guy and was also gentle. He liked to have a lot of fun and tell stories. One I faintly remember was about being in Coach Stalin's US History class and upset the coach. I am hoping that some of you can add stories in the comments to make up a better history of Ronald and others who are not with us.

Gary Arms

Gary was married to Pat Watters, (class of '66) at the time of his death due to cancer.

Kenny Smith

Kenny was killed in a wreck shortly after we graduated

Lloyd Clark

Lloyd's first marriage was to Martha Lewis (also EHS Class of '66), son Allen Clark and grandchildren: Maeve (4) and Spencer (2), divorced when Allen was young and remarried several times, died November 2, 2009 in Nashville area

Jerry Turner

Jerry Turner was shot and killed when answering a call to the VFW in Etowah as an Etowah Police Officer

Allen Yount

Allen died April 7, 2010, married to Jane Hutsell Yount, one daughter--Megan Price, and one grandson--Waylon Price. He had worked for Athens Insurance and was an agent with Shelter Insurance for 14 years. He graduated from TWC.

Lynda Lewis

I can tell you about me: graduate of UTK, taught school in GA and SC for a total of 28 and 1/2 years, married to Joe for 13 years, divorced when he died making me a widow in the eyes of the law as neither of us had remarried. We had no children, so no grandchildren. Mary Grace Starnes used to tell us senior girls that a man would not coming knocking on our door--we had to get out and get involved in community activities to meet men. Joe knocked on my door one evening and invited me to his apartment to have a glass of wine in front of his fireplace and we were married nine months later. I do have a Great-nephew, Hayden McCormick, whom I keep several days a week and love like a grandson--if not more. I currently have a six pound, white Persian, female cat named Snuggles. I love to read, cross-stitch, and go on bus trips with the Senior Travel Club of a local bank or with the Decorative Arts Society of Atlanta.
Myrtle Beach would have to be my favorite place to return to time after time as I have so many friends there. I got to spend 10 days last December touring Morocco--had never been a place I planned to go but it was a great trip. I am going to Graceland with the bank group next month and to Boston with the Atlanta group for two weeks in September. I would like to see more of this country before leaving it again. The only places I really want to visit outside the US are the British Isles--not during the royal wedding!
I have also worked as a seamstress at the sewing mills in Etowah to earn money for college, as a hostess/cashier at a Holiday Inn in Chattanooga and the Sheraton in Athens, food service management for Morrison's, sold shoes at the Shoe Port in Myrtle Beach, managed a time-share resort, executive housekeeper for the Myrtle Beach Resort in Surfside Beach, worked for the govoner of SC accessing DSS files of abused and neglected children, church secretary, day camp counselor for the City of Myrtle Beach (8 summers), and care-giver for my parents (less than 2 years). I currently work approximately 3 days a week as a baby sitter for my Great Nephew for almost 3 years.

Bobby Slack

I met Bobby in the 9th Grade, when I met most of the EHS Class of 66.  Later, Bobby quit working at Doug's IGA and I applied for the his job.  Doug knew me from working at the Etowah Restaurant because I went there to pick up stuff for the restaurant.  Doug hired me.  Bobby came back wanting his job back and Doug rehired him and from there our friendship grew.
After graduation we continued to work for Doug because we made about $40.00 a week more than most factory workers but worked a lot more hours.  Because we worked late we would run around together after we got off.  That led to some escapades.  In the Fall of '66 I met a family who the father was attending Lee College and had a son, daughter, and another girl who lived with them because of difficulty at home.  There was always young people at their house, especially on weekends.  So we became part of that gang.
Neither of us went to college that year and just rocked on enjoying life.  In the fall of '67, I enrolled at Lee College and began the first year of college and worked at Doug's 3 days each week.    Bobby stayed at Doug's and we were still running around together.
We received draft orders effective July 9, 1968 and were sworn into the US Army on that date.  We were taken to Ft. Campbell, KY for Basic Training.  We were in the same Platoon.  After Basic, Bobby went to Ft. Eustis, VA and I went to FT. Lee, VA for advanced training.  I was near Richmond and he was near Virginia Beach.  I took a bus over to visit him one weekend.  That was the last time we saw each other until we were civilians.  We both received Orders for Vietnam but mine was changed and I was kept at Ft. Lee for another training class and then sent to Korea.
Bobby was at DaNang, S. Vietnam for a 12 month tour of duty and then extended for 6 months after a 30 day leave with the intention of staying another 6 months and then getting out about 3 months early.  (We both extended our enlistment in Basic for 1 year to get the schools we wanted).  Bobby decided not to do that and was assigned to Ft. Hood, TX.  After a few months there he received Orders for Germany where he spent the remaining 8 or so months of his enlistment.
I was married about 3 months before my enlistment ended and stayed at Fayetteville, NC working at DuPont for a few months but moved to Cleveland, TN at Thanksgiving and reconnected with Bobby and he was in our home several times and we went to his wedding in Tellico Plains but arrived late and Bobby and his bride were coming down the aisle.  Life was getting more complicated and time consuming with job, children, etc. and we lost contact.
I found out that Bobby had passed away while we were working in Yellowstone National Park in 2005 and that gave feelings of regret that we didn't reconnect again when we might have had more time to enjoy the time together.