All you “out of towners” remember we meet the First Friday of each month at 12:15 at various locations in Kingsport. If you are making the drive and want to check out details call Jane Harris at 423-239-9477, Ben Harris at 423-239-0526 or Sondra Dotson Bridwell at 423-914-1005. All classmates are most welcome.
Jim Gee
Kathy Parham let Jane and me know that Jim Gee passed away on March 3rd. Jim’s health has been failing in recent months. He was admitted to the Blake and not allowed visitors. According to his daughter, he died peacefully in his sleep.
We will cancel First Friday this month since it conflicts with his services.
Rest in peace, Jim. We will miss you.
Tom Parham Inducted into Dobyns-Bennett Hall of Fame
Submitted by Ralph Suit
I wanted to share with you our classmate's induction into the Dobyns Bennett Hall of Fame. This past summer, we elected Tom Parham as one of the five new members to the DB Hall of Fame.
Tom's induction was well deserved, as post-graduation from ETSU, Tom served on 45 different committees in our community and chaired 16 of those committees. Also, Tom was on our city council (BMA) where he served for 8 years and was vice mayor of Kingsport for two of those years. Among many accomplishments, one of Tom's most significant contributions that impressed all of us board members was Tom's role in the design and development of the Greenbelt. For those of you unaware, the Greenbelt is a 10 mile paved pathway along the Holston River that passes through the entire City of Kingsport. Tom was not only instrumental in the design and development of the Greenbelt, but he also personally acquired access to every piece of property that the Greenbelt crossed. As you can imagine, many property owners were concerned about granting an easement for a pathway along their property that would attract public traffic. However, Tom personally met with every property owner who was reluctant to grant the easement, and his tenacity affected every property owner to participate. As a result of Tom's 23 years effort, the Greenbelt is one of the favorite attractions in Kingsport and is used daily by thousands of people walking, running, bicycling, and skateboarding. Follow this link to comprehensive information about the Greenbelt: https://www.kingsportgreenbelt.com/
Tom's extensive community service, many contributions, and many accomplishments made him an easy choice for our board. His induction was well deserved.
Congratulations Tom!!
First First Friday of 2025
Submitted by Jane Harris
We had a great First Friday today! Some newlyweds and some classmates we don't regularly see!
Joining us today were classmates Carol and Doug Killian who live down the road towards Rogersville and make it up for First Friday when they can. We were delighted to see them today.
Also joining us were Pat Dunkin (class of 61 and wife of our deceased '60 classmate Mickey Dunkin) and her husband of two weeks John Wayman also of the class of 61. Congratulations to Pat and John!
Other news of note - Ben Hunter was back today after recovering from triple bypass surgery. Glad to see he had successful surgery!
First first Friday of 2025! Click on picture to see larger image.
The regulars not here today were missed. We had a bit of snow, cold and windy, and several folks a bit under the weather.
Let's see if I can get the names right - sorry for not doing closeups today - the waiter took the photo for me.
Starting left front - Diana Aggett, Doug Killian, Ben Harris (standing), Carol Killian, Kathy Parham, and Jane Harris
Starting right front - Ben Hunter, John Wayman, Pat Wayman, Carolyn Williams, Art Williams (class 61), Margaret Ketron
Best regards to all and Happy New Year!!!!
Joan Glass Martin
Barbara Coughenour, Kathy Morse Parham, Sally Tyler Lehr, Joan Glass Martin, seated Georgia Duncan Koogler, Katherine Looney Jorgenson. Thanks Phil Jorgenson for providing this photo ... very nice! Taken at our 50th Reunion in 2010.
Submitted by Ann Regen Myhre and Jane Harris
Ann Regen Myhre notified us that Joan Glass Martin died in the Atlanta area right before Christmas.
The memory of Joan Glass Martin of Marietta, Georgia, who passed away on December 19, 2024 at the age of 81, will forever remain in the hearts of those touched by this precious presence in their lives.
She was predeceased by: her parents, Carl Kinley Glass and Laura Ann Power Glass. She is survived by: her husband Jack McConnell Martin; her sons, David (Frieda), Andrew (Evangelina) and Daniel (Joy); her grandchildren, Sarah, David Jr., Anna, Nicholas, Matthew, Caleb, Joshua and Madison; and her great grandchildren, Judah and Bregan.
A celebration of life was held on Saturday, December 21st 2024 at 11:00 AM at the Carmichael Funeral Home (1130 Whitlock Ave SW, Marietta, GA 30064).
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Joan's honor to Gideons International at http://www.gideons.org.
More Information
More details on Joan's life since graduating from DB is available at the Dignity Memorial web site at https://www.
Rest in peace, Joan. We miss you.
Best regards to all, and Happy New Year!!
November 2024 First Friday Gathering
Our First Friday numbers were down last week but we enjoyed visiting and had a nice lunch on a rainy Friday. Attendees included Barbara Williams Coughenour, Kathy Morse Parham, Carolyn and Art Williams (Class of ’59), Ben and Jane Beck Harris, Margaret Ketron Colley, Sondra Dotson Bridwell, and Diana Woodard Agett.
Mrs. Stewart’s John Sevier Jr. High Class in 1954
Sondra Dotson Bridwell brought this photo to our November First Friday. It is one of our 7th Grade classes at John Sevier Jr. High in 1954. We think this was Mrs. Stewart’s homeroom. We got almost all the names when identifying our classmates but we had a few mysteries. Maybe our other classmates will enjoy the memory and help with identifying the few missing names.
John Cate, Husband of Ellie Whitlow Cate
We are sorry to let you know that John Cate, Ellie Whitlow Cate's husband, passed away on August 6th.
I have good memories of John from our undergraduate days in Knoxville and fortunately had an opportunity to chat with him and Ellie at our 75th reunion. At that time, they were doing well and enjoying their lives in Brentwood, TN. John was an interesting and gracious person, easy to like and chat with in a party situation.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ellie and their family.
For more information about John, here is a link to his obituary in the Times News.
Best regards to all.
Special June 2024 First Friday Gathering
Submitted by Jane Harris
Summer is always a time when our attendance varies as folks are out of town traveling. Zollie Harrison Miles came from Columbia SC to enjoy First Friday with the regular Kingsport crew. We enjoyed catching up with Zollie and appreciated her efforts to visit.
I have had a few complaints that folks could not see faces with the group photos – so I walked around the table today and got small groups so hopefully you can put faces with names. [Click on the images below to see a larger version. - Bill] Sorry I forgot at the end to include myself, but I was there!
If you are planning a visit to Kingsport or the area – come on a First Friday for lunch at 11:45 at Riverfront Seafood with your classmates. We will meet next month on July 5th. If you don’t care for seafood there are other good choices – Ben Hunter had the hamburger today and said it was great.
Zollie Miles, Jim Gee
Phyllis Fugate, Margaret Ketron
Margret Ketron, Sondra Bridwell, Bill McConnell
Linda and Ray Robinson
Freda and Mert Dibble
Ben Hunter, Barbara Coughenour, Ben Harris
Sharron Fraysier
Sharron Diane Fraysier
Submitted by Jane Harris
Sharron Diane Fraysier, 81, passed from this life to her Heavenly home on Thursday, May 30, 2024, after a courageous battle with COPD.
Sharron was a loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.
She is preceded in death by her first husband, Jay D. Burchette; second husband, Robert M. Fraysier; her parents, Harry E. and Thelma June Cannoy; and her grandson, Jamison Housewright.
Those left to cherish Sharron's memory are her daughters, Karen Cassell (Michael), and Lisa Beverly (Scott Beckerink) all of Kingsport, TN; stepsons, Michael Fraysier (Debbie) of Harker Heights, TX and Todd Fraysier (Delores) of Bailey, NC; grandchildren, Jeremy Cassell (Megan) of Sebastian, FL, Leslie Mullins (Hunter) of Kingsport, TN, Deena Cornbloom (Eddie), Brye Richie (Todd), and Zion Fraysier all of Harker Heights, TX; Brandie Dodd (Josh) of Wake Forest, NC; Ashlee Jackson (Jonathan) of Knoxville, TN; Justin Beverly of New Orleans, LA; and Ethan Beverly of Kingsport, TN; and many great-grandchildren who loved her dearly.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Colonial Heights Baptist Church Meals On Wheels, 108 Colonial Heights Rd., Kingsport, TN 37663 or Shades of Grace United Methodist Church, 313 E. Sullivan St., Kingsport, TN 37660.
An Entombment Service will be held at a later date.
To share memories and condolences with the family, please visit www.oakhillfh .com
The care of Sharron Diane Fraysier and her family has been entrusted to the staff of Oak Hill Funeral & Cremation Services.
Published by The Kingsport Times-News on Jun. 1, 2024.
Hugh Lewis
We are sorry to interrupt your holiday weekend to let you know that Hugh passed away on May 9th in New Orleans. Hugh spent his working career in naval architecture in Louisiana last working for Offshore Logistics designing crew boats and ships that served in various capacities globally.
Hugh and his wife Patia split their time between Lafayette and New Orleans enjoying weekends fishing, crabbing, camping and gardening.
We send our best wishes to Hugh's family.
Thomas Dean Gates
Dean passed away on April 4th. Thanks to Kathy Parham and Jane Harris for providing Dean's obituary.