All you “out of towners” remember we meet the First Friday of each month at 11:45 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.
Stony passed away on October 28, 2025 at NHC Kingsport after an extended illness.
The family will receive friends Saturday, November 1, 2025 from 11:00am – 1:00pm at Hamlett-Dobson Funeral Home.
We will miss Stony.
On October 13, 2025, this world lost an incredibly good man when in the company of his family, Mike O’Neill traveled peacefully to the next world. Mike’s accomplishments and service to others were remarkable. It is hard to imagine so much good could fit into one life. Writing them all down would embarrass Mike, but we are going to do it anyway, at least some of them. Before though, it must be noted that for those who knew Mike O’Neill, he was more than respected, he was beloved. And as well-loved as he was by his wife and family, his friends, and his community – he loved them that much more. The fierceness of his love defined his life. It was a heck of a good way to live a life.
Mike graduated from Dobyns Bennett in 1958. During his senior year, he was the president of the student body, member of Boys State, and was voted Most Outstanding in his class. He lettered in football, baseball, and track. He was the captain of the football team and set the 880-yard dash state record in track. Mike is a member of the Dobyns Bennett High School Hall of Fame. Mike was awarded a football scholarship to Georgia Tech, where he played for the legendary coach Bobby Dodd. He graduated from Georgia Tech with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management. Following graduation, Mike entered the Army infantry as a 2nd Lieutenant, where he served as an Airborne Ranger. Mike joined Eastman following his military service, where he held many leadership positions before retiring as the Vice President of Communication and Public Affairs. He then worked as the President of the Wellmont Foundation. Along the way, Mike served as a Kingsport City Alderman, the Chairman of the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce, a board member for Citizens Bank, and served in leadership positions for the YMCA, Tennessee Nature Conservancy, Contact Concern, the Kingsport Economic Development Board, and numerous other community organizations. He received the Boys & Girls Club’s Man and Boy award, was named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Kingsport Rotary Club, received the Distinguished Community Leadership award from the National Association of Community Leadership, and the Lifetime Achievement award by the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Sam and Grace O’Neill, his sisters, Betty Byrd and Kathleen Eastwood.
He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Betty Harman O’Neill, son Michael O’Neill, special son Phillip and Myar Long, daughter and son-in-law CeeGee and Jeff McCord, grandchildren Sam and Kayla McCord, Joseph and Mary O’Neill, Grace and Sean Collins, Corey and Ashley O’Neill, John and Lydia McCord, Niles Long, as well as precious great grandchildren, Talia, Preston, Ellie, Marshall, Elijah, Raelynn, Lexi, Savannah, Laine, Owen, and brother-in-law Joe and Linda Harman.
The family would like to thank the amazing caregivers for their compassionate care to help make Mike’s last years and final days as comfortable as possible – we are sincerely grateful to Nancy, Cindy, Lainey, Liz and the amazing team and friends of Preston Place l, Amedisys, and the Mountain Home VA Medical Center.
The service will be conducted on Friday, October 17, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. The family will receive friends with a reception to follow.
In lieu of flowers or meals, please consider a donation to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 161 E. Ravine Road, Kingsport, TN 37660.
Hamlett Dobson Funeral Home in Kingsport is serving the family.
Michael W. “Mickey” Deason of Kingsport TN. passed away on October 5, 2025 at the age of 86.
He was born in Johnson City, TN. to Hazel and Wilson Deason. The family later moved to Knoxville, TN., where he attended grammar and middle schools, cultivating many happy memories and lifelong friendships. Eventually moving to Kingsport, he attended Dobyns-Bennett High School and ETSU.
After working at Eastman Chemical for approximately 10 years, he became an agent with Allstate Insurance until retirement in 2000.
Mickey is predeceased by his parents, his sister and brother-in-law Sandra and Wallace Crane, and son-in-law Marc Kieffer.
He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Rita Bookhardt Deason, sons Chance (Vanessa) of Hendersonville TN., Shane (Kayla) of Church Hill,TN., and daughter, LeAnne Kieffer of Charlotte, NC. Cherished grandchildren; Madeline (Hartley) Depass, Peyton Deason, Wes Deason, Seth and Molly Johnson, Rhys and Elloree Kieffer, Ryker Sloan, and several beloved nieces and nephews. Also, brother Randall Deason.
At Mickey’s request, there will be no formal services. A private family memorial will be held at a future date.
The family would like to sincerely thank the entire staff of Suncrest Hospice for their compassionate care to help make Mickeys final days as comfortable as possible. We are forever grateful.
In lieu of flowers or meals, please consider a donation in his name to a charity of your choosing.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
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.
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!!
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!!!!
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!!
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.
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, click here to view the content of his obituary from the Kingsport Times-News.
Best regards to all.
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
