Mary Esther Hatmaker
Mary Esther Hatmaker was more affectionately known as “Essie Mae” by her loving husband of 47 years, Hubert (1917-1994); “Mom” by her daughters, Donna (Scott) Fraley of Lenoir City and Brenda (Rick) McColl of Knoxville; “Nanaw” by her granddaughters, Susan (Brad) Horn of Knoxville, Holly (Jason) Zachary of Knoxville and Brandi (Brandon) Williams of Sevierville; “Mamaw” and “Granny” by her favorite grandson, Joe (Tonya) Pierce of Lenoir City; “GG” by her great-grandchildren, the pride and joy of her life, Austin and Addison Pierce, Madeline and Reagan Horn, Tyson Zachary and Zoe Morgan and Hunter Williams; and “Essie” by her sister, Bunny Thomas of Lenoir City, and her siblings who preceded her in death, Grace Everett, Wayne Burnette, Nine Ruth Summitt, Annis Hudson, ML Wilkerson, Barbara Luther, Woody Wilkerson, Helen McCabe, and Midge Newberry.
Esther was born into the home of Floyd Woodrow and Mary Watt Wilkerson in Lenoir City Dec. 21, 1925. She graduated from Lenoir City High School in 1944 and married the love of her life Dec, 29, 1945. They built their home on Grigsby Chapel Road, and that is where she spent the happiest days of her life.
God created her to be a homemaker, and everyone who entered her home can testify that she thrived in that role. Hospitality was her passion; creating beautiful spaces, delicious dishes and a welcoming atmosphere came as naturally to her as breathing. Her days were spent in the kitchen and garden, and at night she enjoyed playing cards and backgammon with her family and friends, watching Tennessee football or Atlanta Braves baseball or making the most gorgeous hand-stitched quilts.
Esther left her earthly body, and her faith was made sight on Dec, 10, 2020, just 11 days before her 95th birthday. As beautiful as her life was, the glory that she is experiencing in the presence of the Lord is greater that any treasure this world could offer.
Because of COVID-19, the family held a graveside service beginning at 2 p.m., Monday, Dec. 14, at Loudon Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, please consider memorials to East Tennessee Office of Alzheimer’s Tennessee, Inc. Website is www.alztennessee.org
Judy Elaine Taylor, age 69, passed away Sept. 26, 2020, at her home in Knoxville after a brave battle with cancer. She was born Aug. 12, 1951, to Gene and Delphia Taylor in Marion, North Carolina.
Judy was a graduate of The University of North Carolina at Asheville. She proudly served her country in the U.S. Army, where she was an ordinance officer before retiring her commission to work as a military plans analyst with the federal government, conducting war games and exercises.
She was a voracious reader who loved to go on historical and literary tours. Judy traveled frequently for work and continued into retirement to many European countries. She loved spending time with her children and grandchildren and looked forward to her annual family trips home to Asheville for Thanksgiving.
Judy was preceded in death by her parents in 2002 and 2019. She is survived by her son, John, and his wife, Katie, and their children, Madelyn and JJ, all of Knoxville; daughter, Julie, and her husband, Dan, and their daughters, Harper and Brooke, all of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; sister, Kaye, of Knoxville; and sister, Abbie, and her children, William and Charlotte, all of Atlanta, Georgia. Services for Judy were held Oct. 3 at Click Funeral Home Farragut Chapel.
Thomas G. Canan, 74, passed away peacefully July 30, 2020, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Born Jan. 30, 1946, in Muncie, Indiana, Tom was the third of four children born to Phyllis Badders Canan Harter and raised by Phyllis and Everett Earl Harter.
Tom graduated from Muncie Central High School in 1964, where he played baseball and basketball. Tom was a member of the First Baptist Church in downtown Muncie. In his young years, Tom was employed by Muncie Delco Battery, then sold autos and RVs for a local Muncie dealer, which led to his career start at Prudential Insurance. He was married twice: first to Joy Kay Catron of Muncie (from August 1966 to July 1985) and later to Lynne Collins Canan of Blacksburg, Virginia (from November 1986 to March 2015).
Tom lived in the Muncie area until moving to Boca Raton, Florida, in 1974 with Prudential. He then moved to Knoxville in 1979 with Prudential after being promoted to District Manager. Prudential moved Tom, once again, to Centerville, Ohio, in 1989. He retired from Prudential in 1993 in Knoxville. He earned many accolades during his long tenure. Tom had a second career as a real estate agent with Lynne Canan as his partner at Realty Executives, Knoxville.
Tom had a wonderful gift of work/life balance throughout his life. He was a prominent leader at Prudential where he held a lifelong career and was all inclusive with his family. Tom also loved to enjoy his family with activities and travel, especially to the ocean and lakes where the family enjoyed fishing, boating and picnicking together.
Tom loved music, dancing, reading, sports and dogs. Tom loved to entertain his family, work family and friends throughout his life. He also was a leader, coaching his sons’ baseball teams, including Tommy’s Orioles team and Ty’s Copperheads travel league team. Tom was the best Girl Dad to Kristi and Kelli and empowered them both to aspire to achieve their dreams. He introduced his children to the endless possibilities in the world, showed them beautiful places to live and visit, demonstrated responsibility and accountability and taught them how excuses had no place in their lives. Tom loved his grandchildren deeply and spent much of his time watching sports with brother, Mike.
Thomas G. Canan is survived by his children, Thomas B. Canan (Anne), of Kansas City, Missouri; Kelli A. Canan (Anthony), of Knoxville; Hylton Tyler Canan (Juliane), of Atlanta, Georgia; and Shawn R. Bailes of Knoxville. Grandchildren are Katherine Annaliese Bailes, Harter Thomas Crisp and William Hayden Crisp of Knoxville; His brother, Michael Eugene Harter of Knoxville; Lynne C. Canan and Joy K. Catron, of Knoxville.
Tom recently was predeceased by his beloved daughter, Kristi C. Bailes of Knoxville. He also was predeceased by his parents, Phyllis and Everett Harter; his brothers, James John Canan of Grand Rapids, Michigan and Raymond Bradford Canan (Trish) of Crawfordsville, Indiana. Tom leaves behind numerous nieces, nephews and extended family members and close friends.
The family received friends and family outdoors at Concord Park waterfront (near the boat ramp and Lakeside Tavern) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 8.
The sudden passing of his daughter, Kristi, was a profound loss for Tom; therefore, in lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Vibrant Emotional Health, the nonprofit administer of the Suicide Prevention Lifeline, was instrumental in creating the 988 Direct-Dial hotline, which will be active in 2022. Your donation will help implement the three-digit number to provide easier and more widespread access to mental health services.
Donors may contribute in memory of Kristi C. Bailes at www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/donate and request that a notification be sent to: BailesCananSuicidePrevention@outlook.com.
94, of Woodman, Wisconsin, passed away peacefully on Friday, June 26, 2020.
Everett was born Feb. 6, 1926, in Elgin, Illinois. After graduating from Elgin High School, his higher education included a B.A. from Lake Forest College in 1949 where he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, and an M.S. from Northern Illinois University in 1969 where he was instrumental in developing an outdoor education program for the Lorado Taft Field campus.
Everett served in the United States Army. During his career, he taught at the Chicago Junior School in Elgin and later for Glen Ellyn Junior High School (renamed Hadley Jr. High), retiring in 1986. As Director of Environmental Studies and Outdoor Education for Glen Ellyn Public Schools, he supervised science programs for the district, and developed and ran an extremely popular summer outdoor education program. While teaching, he also enjoyed working with his father at McLean’s Bait and Tackle in Elgin, raising soft-shell crabs and seining minnows to supply area fishermen and several exhibits at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.
A lover of the out-of-doors, including hunting and fishing, Everett was passionate about preserving the environment and protecting wildlife. He regularly took extended camping and fossil hunting trips with his first wife, Nancy, and their three daughters to explore and fish the wild remote areas of the Midwest. When his grandchildren visited, they often went on long hikes at his farm, fishing trips and enjoyed traditional evening campfires.
In his later years, he resided part time in California with second wife, Carol. He enjoyed volunteering at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, competing internationally as a member of the Santa Barbara Lawn Bowling Club, traveling the British Isle and retreating to his farm in Wisconsin during the summer for some quiet time. He regularly attended services and participated in Bible studies at The Marion Immanuel United Church of Christ in Woodman. Everett recently enjoyed a Father’s Day Zoom call from his daughters and nephew, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He is survived by his first wife, Nancy L. Collingbourne.
His daughters are Lorna J.M. Rosson of Farragut, along with those outside of Farragut: Mary (Ben) Schmidtke, Julie (Jim) McPike and his second wife’s daughter, Rebecca (James) Carbone.
His granddaughters are Audra A. Rosson and Lorna E. Rosson of Farragut, along with those outside of Farragut: Heidi Lalowski (Dr. John Gaskill), Andrea McPike, Katy McPike (Col. James) Burack, Sue McPike (Siguard) Utgaard, Caitlyn Carbone (Justin) Dillon and Jessica Carbone.
His grandsons are Dr. Christopher (Brittany) Rosson of Farragut, along with those outside of Farragut: Ben Schmidtke III (Victoria Griesdoorn), Andrew McPike and Dr. Jim (Jenette) McPike II.
Great-grandchildren from Farragut are Everett Rosson, Nolan Aarant, Jack Aarant, Jenna Crowley and Charlotte Hays. Great-grandchildren outside of Farragut are Tristan Lalowski, Mary Lalowski, Johnny Gaskill, Jade Bayer, Forrest Bayer (great-great granddaughter Aiva Bayer), Audrey Bayer, Chloe Bayer, Isaac Bayer, Charlie Utgaard, Maggie Utgaard, Liam Burack, Finn Burack, Madalyn McPike, Angela McPike and Noelle McPike.
His nephews, Rick (Lili Ann Agustin) Breytspraak, John Breytspraak, Bill (Misue Fujimoto) Breytspraak, and nieces, Mary (Jim) Valerio (children Juno and Maryann) and Ann Breytspraak, visited him often in California.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Lorna Elaine Lussenhof and Everett Giles McLean Sr.; sister, Mary Lorna Breytspraak; younger brother, William Herbert McLean; grandson-in-law, Donn Lalowski; and second wife, Carol Price McLean of Santa Barbara, California.
The family plans to schedule a celebration of his life when gathering in person is possible. Please make a donation to a charity of your choice or plant a tree in Everett’s memory — Buckeyes were his favorite.
73, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving husband and family Friday, June 19, 2020, in Farragut, Tennessee, after a long, courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.
Family received friends from 1 to 2 p.m., Saturday, June 27, at Click Funeral Home Farragut Chapel with a service celebrating Peggy following.
Afterward there was a reception next door at Milestones Event Center.
Peggy was born in Williamston, North Carolina, to William Mullen and Elsie Hyman Schultz, and raised in Robersonville, North Carolina, where she was the homecoming queen and graduated from Robersonville High School in 1964.
After her high school graduation, Peggy attended Richard Bland College for two years. Peggy was a four-time cancer survivor and a pioneer in trying experimental treatments at John’s Hopkins University Hospital that helped save her life and further cancer research.
In 1973, Peggy moved to West Palm Beach, Florida, and was hired by Burnup & Sims, Inc, a nationwide infrastructure construction company, and soon met her future husband, John. Peggy happily married John M. Cypherd Jr. June 28, 1974.
In 1980, they started their own engineering and xonstruction company, STS, Inc., located in Orlando. In 1995, they sold the company and retired to the mountains of North Carolina.
In 2016, they wanted to be closer to their daughter and grandchildren and moved to Farragut. Peggy loved spending time with her family and pets.
She enjoyed adventure and travel, gardening, playing golf, Purdue football games and Corvettes.
Peggy touched many lives with her inspirational stories and passion for life, and her Southern accent captured the hearts of everyone she met.
Peggy was preceded in death by her parents, William Mullen and Elsie Hyman Schultz; father-in-law, Donald Schultz; brothers, Thomas Mullen, James T. Taylor and Kenneth H. Taylor; aunt, Elizabeth Hyman Taylor; and uncle, James W. Taylor Jr.
Peggy is survived by her husband of 46 years, John M. Cypherd Jr. of Knoxville; daughter, Kathryn R. Nagy and husband, Philip, of Knoxville; sons, Christopher T. Cypherd and wife, Ronda, of Orlando; Robert Gregory Cypherd and wife, Gail, of Fishers Island, New York; John M. Cypherd III and wife, Stacy, of Tampa; daughter, Sonya Gauer, of Orlando; brother, Dallas W. Taylor, and wife, Ann, of Greenville, North Carolina.; sister-in-law, Toni C. Taylor, of Greenville; niece, Bebee Mullen Bugge and husband, Adam, of Thief River Falls, Minnesota; surrogate son, Peter Zike and fianceé Sonia, of El Paso, Texas; 13 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
In Lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to UT Hospice and the Pancreatic Cancer Research.
Donna Brown Bocik, age 57, passed away early Sunday, May 25, 2020. Her final moments were surrounded with love and care from her family in her home in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Donna was born and raised in East Tennessee, treasuring the mountains nearby her whole life.
She was a member of First Farragut United Methodist Church, where she was active in the children’s ministry and VBS for several years.
Donna was a devoted, compassionate and empowering mother. She fought breast cancer with the support of her husband to see their two girls graduate school this year and pursue their passions. Donna was one of the kindest, most admirable and beautiful souls to ever walk this earth, and will be missed by so many.
She undoubtedly loved her puppy, creating new craft ideas with her friends and Disney movies.
Her deepest love was for her family. She was active in the lives of her girls: helping out in the classroom, going to her daughter’s orchestra concerts and being a dance mom. Her calming advice helped guide her eldest daughter through her recent college years.
Donna also traveled to countless dance competitions to be her youngest daughter’s support system and motivation for her to achieve her dancing dreams.
She is survived by her husband of 31 years, Todd; daughters, Kaitlyn and Brenna; parents, Sandra Hatcher and William Brown; sibling, Lisa Mallory; and several other family members and countless friends whom she loved.
Family received friends from 5 to 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 27, at Click Funeral Home Farragut Chapel. A service to celebrate Donna’s life followed at 6:30 p.m., with the Rev. Chuck Powell officiant.
In lieu of flowers, make memorials in Donna’s name to Thompson Cancer Survival Center (https://www.thompsoncancer.com/giving/ways-to-contribute/).
Nancy Livesay Willis of Farragut passed away Thursday afternoon, April 16, at Parkwest Medical Center.
Nancy is preceded in death by her parents, Robert B. Livesay and Matilda K. Livesay, and sister, Carol L. Price.
She is survived by her husband of 62 years, John D. Willis; son, Dr. N. Dale Willis (Kristina); daughter, DeAnne W. Teague; five grandchildren: Chloe Teague, Ian Willis, Nathan Willis, Callie Teague and Dawson Willis; uncle, Jack Livesay; niece, Jennifer P. Miller; nephew, Brent Price, and several cousins.
Nancy attended Virginia Intermont College in Bristol and Milligan College, and received her Masters from the University of Tennessee.
She was 2nd lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol. Nancy was a member of Union Cumberland Presbyterian Church, a member of Andrew Bogle NSDAR in Knoxville and a member of Farragut Garden Club.
Private services for immediate family were held Sunday, April 19, with interment in Union Cemetery. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date at Union Cumberland Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Leonard Turner and cousin Sheldon Livesay, of One Accord Ministry, officiating.
Nancy was a loving wife, mother and grandmother who loved her friends and enjoyed her clubs and Bible studies. Foremost in her life was her faith in Jesus Christ, and we are thankful for her testimony.
When an explosion crippled the Apollo 13 spacecraft, Galen was chosen by NASA to be part of a team of elite rocket scientists who worked in Houston to analyze “the problem.” Galen was a cryogenics expert who worked for Boeing, Lockheed and Oak Ridge National Lab. Like many in “The Greatest Generation,” Galen came from humble beginnings. He was born in 1934, near Lanesboro MN, to Annette and Alfred Oppegard. Their farmhouse had no electricity or running water. Galen and his brothers walked to the one room schoolhouse. Galen went on to graduate from the U. of Minnesota. He married Joan McAffee, and was blessed with 50 years of marriage until her passing. They loved their eight children: Patricia Dueber, Peter Oppegard-1988 Olympic Champion in Pairs Figure Skating, Peggy Thomas, Pamela Carter, Pierrette Mathes, Paulette Foley, Paul Oppegard, and Preston Oppegard. Galen had fun with his sons-in-law: Peter Dueber, Mike Thomas, Bill Foley and daughter-in-law JJ Oppegard. He enjoyed traveling across the U.S. to attend the events and graduations of his 30 grandchildren and his great grandchild, Ella.
Grandchildren: Oppegard: Nolan, Marlie, Jenna, Gavin, Anna, Megan, Olivia, Sophia // Kayla Tyrrell Snider // Dueber: Stephanie, Kaylee, Nicholas // Thomas: Andrew, Will, Brittany, Danielle & husband Kevin Robertson // Carter: Elliot, Madeleine, Eugenia, Hugo, Henry // Mathes: Michael, Julia, John, Joseph, Thomas, Elizabeth // Foley: Kayla, Jack, Adrienne and Great Grandchild: Ella Foley
A celebration of Galen’s life will be held at a later date in the Bunker Hill neighborhood where he had lived since 1977. The children in the neighborhood adored “Mr. Galen” and he cherished them. He will forever be remembered for his kindness.
Donations may be sent online to Galen’s favorite charity, run by his niece, Linda Oppegard Campbell who lives in Africa and provides a school, food and clothing to needy children in Sseya Uganda. preparethewayministry.com
