Obituaries

Ken Woodfin

SOUTH PITTSBURGH Oran Kenna Woodfin Sr., 93, passed away on Saturday, June 30, 2012 at Valley View Assisted Living in Whitwell, Tenn.Mr. Woodfin, known affectionately to family and friends as O.K. or Woody, was born March 19, 1919, in South Pittsburg, Tenn., to Roy M. Woodfin and Maggie Woodfin. Mr. Woodfin graduated from South Pittsburg High School where he played football for Coach Phil Bean and later attended business school. He then worked for Southern Railway in New York and Chicago.Mr. Woodfin was a determined and sometimes stubborn man and this served him well. When his parents told him he could not play football he would sneak out to practice and games. He was eventually found out but had made a name for himself and was allowed to play. When he heard the news of Pearl Harbor while sitting around the radio with family, like most young men, he wasted no time and enlisted the next day. He wanted to be a bomber pilot but was rejected because he was flat footed. He kept applying until he found a way around the regulation and went on to fly many exciting missions as pilot of a B-25 in the pacific. And finally, when he was in the hospital quarantined with tuberculosis he snuck out a bit early to propose to Lucille Knight.When Woody met Lucille their lives would change forever. They made their home in South Pittsburg, Tenn., where Mr. Woodfin worked for and later was a partner in the family business, The South Pittsburg Hustler (newspaper/printing). They both enjoyed a wonderful life filled with happy memories and close friends and family. Mr. Woodfin was a deacon, choir director and treasurer at First Baptist Church of South Pittsburg. He was a Paul Harris Fellow and charter member of the South Pittsburg Rotary Club. He served on the Economic Development Board and was a charter member of the Sequatchie Valley Golf & Country Club in South Pittsburg where he spent countless hours enjoying the game of golf (One hole-in-one). In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brothers, Otis Warren Woodfin and Bobby Woodfin; sister, Chase Carter and Martha Fine; and his wife, Lucille Knight Woodfin on May 17, 2005.Surviving is his son, Oran Kenna Woodfin, Jr. and wife, Patricia Nadine Woodfin, of Hixson, Tenn.; and his son, Dale Wade Woodfin, of Mt. Juliet, Tenn.; grandchildren, Austin Chase Woodfin, Cameron Royce Woodfin, Kimberly April Wheeler, Keely Arris Wheeler, Kasey Alexandria Henson; great-grandchildren, Kielynn Harlow, Alexis Marie Henson and Bradley Joseph Henson. Also, his sisters-in-law, Emma Atchley and Mildred Cochran as well as special nieces, Margaret Neil Adams, Kathy Whittington, Kitty Lipton, Carolyn Manier, Charlotte Cochran, Barbara Atchley and special nephews, Rob Woodfin, Chris Woodfin, Roy Cochran, Bill Atchley, Bob Atchley, Brian Atchley, Bruce Atchley, Brent Atchley.Funeral services will be conducted from the South Pittsburg Chapel of Rogers Funeral Home at 10 a.m. Central time on Tuesday, July 3. Interment will be in Cumberland View Cemetery in Kimball, Tenn.The family will receive friends for visitation today from 5-7 p.m. Central time at the funeral home.In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 192, South Pittsburg, TN 37380.Please leave condolences at www.rogersfuneralhome.com.

Published July 2, 2012

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