>From The Knoxville News Sentinel 23 Mar 2004 CUNNINGHAM, RUTH MORTON JOURNEY - 96, EDMOND, ALBERT JAMES, PHILLIPS, ORA "MAMA SUE" - SPARKS, DR. CULLIE JAMES JR., ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| CUNNINGHAM, RUTH MORTON JOURNEY - 96, retired Oak Ridge teacher and widow of Elbert C. Cunningham, Sr., died Friday afternoon, March 19, 2004, at the home of her son, E. C. Cunningham, M.D., in Harriman, TN. Mrs. Cunningham was born in Maury County, TN, on May 18, 1907, the daughter of John William Journey and Ethel Frances Morton Journey. She had lived at 112 Gordon Rd. since coming to Oak Ridge with her late husband and two sons in 1945. She grew up in Columbia, TN, and Springfield, TN, and lived and taught in Giles County, TN, Pinehurst, N.C., Corinth-Holder, N.C., and Mooresville, N.C. from 1947 until she retired in 1970, Mrs. Cunningham taught in the Oak Ridge Public Schools, first as a fifth-grade teacher at Pine Valley School and then as a seventh-grade teacher at Jefferson Junior High School. After retiring, she kept in touch with many of her former students and was a regular contributor of letters to the Editor of The Oak Ridger Newspaper on many community issues. She was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, the teachers' honorary society, and the Oak Ridge Retired Teachers Association. Mrs. Cunningham was an alumna of David Lipscomb College, Peabody College, Middle Tennessee State Teachers College, and Ward Belmont College. She was an active member of First Christian Church of Oak Ridge, where she and her late husband had been leaders fro the congregations early years. Mr. Cunningham, who had served first as Principal of Oak Ridge High School and then as Atomic Energy Commission administrator, died in 1959. They were married on June 17, 1933. Mrs. Cunningham was a fiction and memoir writer, whose work was published widely. After retiring, she regularly hosted international scholars. Advanced graduate students and visiting scientists from more than twenty countries lived in her home for months or years at a time, and many of them stayed in regular correspondences with her after returning to their home countries, including Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, and Turkey. Surviving Mrs. Cunningham are: her son E.C. Cunningham, M.D. and daughter-in-law, Lynn Blalock Cunningham, of Harriman, TN, and their three children Ellyn Kullmar of Murfreesboro, TN, Walter Cunningham and Charles Cunningham of Knoxville, TN; her son Joel L. Cunningham, and daughter-in-law Trudy Bender Cunningham of Sewanee, TN, and their two daughters Nancy Cunningham of New York City and Susan Cunningham of Arlington, VA; nine great-grandchildren; sisters Will Frances Journey Sanders (Mrs. D.W. Sanders) of Nashville, TN, and Margaret Morton Porter (Mrs. Robert Porter) of Como, MS; sisters-in-law Mildred Russ Cunningham (Mrs. J.P. Cunningham) of Nashville, TN, Iva May McMurtry Cunningham (Mrs. W.L. Cunningham) of Signal Mountain, TN, Ruth Cunningham Rucker (Mrs. John Rucker) of Franklin, TN; and nine nieces and nephews. The funeral service will be Wednesday, March 24, at 12:00 noon at First Christian Church of Oak Ridge, followed by a lunch at the Church and interment at Oak Ridge Memorial Gardens. Family and friends will be welcome at Martin Oak Ridge Funeral Home Tuesday evening, March 23, from 7:00 to 8:30 pm and at First Christian Church Wednesday, March 24, from 11:00am until the noon service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Disciples of Christ Compassion Ministries (P.O. Box 96, Indianapolis, IN 46206) or the Ruth Cunningham Scholarship Endowment of Susquehanna University (514 University Ave. Selinsgrove, PA 17870). Martin Oak Ridge Funeral Home 1017 Oak Ridge Tunrpike Oak Ridge, TN 37830 (865)483-4341 is in charge of arrangements. EDMOND, ALBERT JAMES, born September 19, 1916, went to be with the Lord on March 21, 2004 at the Methodist Medical Center. Mr. Edmond was a former resident of the Wheat Community. He served in the United States Army from October 7, 1940 to October 7, 1945. He was in the Normandy Invasion and Battle of the Bulge during World War II. He was presented with the Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Service and the Metal of the Jubilee of Liberty. The Regional Council of Normandy presented the medals to pay tribute to the men and women who fought in Normandy to restore freedom. Mr. Edmond was very active in his church and had served as a deacon for 52 years. He was preceded in death by: his father and mother, John and Ella Edmond; brothers, Preston, William, Virgil and Tommy Edmond. Mr. Edmond is survived by: his beloved wife, the former Edythe Varnadoe. On December 11th they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. He is survived by: two daughters, Judith Hendrix of Marietta, Georgia and Sandra Dockery of Knoxville; two sons-in-law Leon Hendrix and Jim Dockery; four grandchildren, Stacey Roaderick of Cartersville, Georgia; Charles Hendrix and David Hendrix of Marietta, Georgia; and Brenton Edmond of Knoxville, Tennessee; four great-grandchildren Devon Edmond of Knoxville; Natalie Davis of Cartersville, Georgia and Nicholas and Kimberly Hendrix of Marietta, Georgia; three sisters, Louise Logan of Nashville; Ruth Rose and Flora Ishan of Harriman and a brother, Earl Edmond of Dayton, Ohio. Funeral services will be held at Royce Baptist Church, 131 LaSalle Road on Tuesday, March 23, 2004, with Rev. Rick Miller officiating. The family will receive friends from 6 pm to 8 pm at the Church and a service to celebrate Mr. Edmond's life will follow the receiving of friends. The burial service will be on Wednesday, March 24, 2004 at 11:00 am at Oak Ridge Memorial Park. Memorials may be made to Royce Baptist Church, 131 LaSalle Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Weatherford Mortuary is handling arrangements. www.weatherfordmortuary.com PHILLIPS, ORA "MAMA SUE" - went to be with Jesus Sunday, March 21, 2004 at her residence. She is of the Baptist Faith. Loving wife, mother, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother & friend. Survivors: husband, Robert W. Phillips of Clinton; sons, James & wife Francis Hicks of Clinton, Eddie & wife Jan Hicks of Oak Ridge; brother, Harry & wife Betty Brittle of Clinton; grandchildren, Tina Hicks of Clinton, Ellie Michelle & Carla Hicks of Clinton, Melissa & husband Brent Bowman of Clinton, Amada Sue Hicks of Cedar Springs, Michigan; stepson, Robert Wayne Phillips of Clinton; great grandson, Brent Bowman Jr. of Clinton; cousin, James & wife Mary Messamore of Clinton, special friends, Peewee & wife Doris Roysden , Ida Green, Novella Hatmaker, Danny Morrison all of Clinton. Mama Sue will be sadly missed by her friends & family. The family will receive friends 6:00-8:00 pm Wednesday, March 24, 2004 at Holley-Gamble Funeral Home with funeral services following in the chapel with Rev. Murl Phillips officiating. The interment will be 10:30 am, Thursday at Jarnigan's Chapel. Holley-Gamble Funeral Home in Clinton in charge of all arrangements. SPARKS, DR. CULLIE JAMES JR., a world-renown metallurgist and pioneer in x-ray optics, age 74, of Oak Ridge TN, passed away Friday afternoon March 19, 2004 of complications from heart surgery. He was in the company of his wife and children at the Duke Medical Center in North Carolina. Dr. Sparks grew up in Kentucky, graduating from Paintsville High School in 1948. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in metallurgical engineering from the University of Kentucky in 1952 and became the third person to receive a doctoral degree from the UK College of Engineering. While growing up, Dr. Sparks worked after school and on weekends in the family grocery store. He supported himself and his wife while earning his PHD at UK with a paper route and as an ROTC member. He served as a Project Officer in the U.S. Air Force. After receiving his doctorate, Dr. Sparks joined the staff of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He became Group Leader of the X-ray Research and Applications Group of the Metals and Ceramics Division at ORNL and received numerous awards for his contributions to science. Most notably, he was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Metals International and a Fellow of American Physical Society. He is the recipient of the Department of Energy Award for Sustained Outstanding Research and was chairman of the National Synchrotron Light Source Users Group. Dr. Sparks authored and co-authored more than 100 scientific publications and book chapters and holds two patents. He has served on several national and university science boards including the USA National Committee for Crystallography, is a member of Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Xi honor societies, and is recognized in the Hall of distinction. His seminal x-ray research is legendary in the materials characterization community. In the 50's and 60's his collaborations with Professor Bernard Borie pioneered the use of diffuse x-ray scattering to study point defects in alloys. Their "Borie- Sparks Method" for analyzing diffuse scattering is still widely used for the analysis of point defects by diffuse neutron scattering and forms the basis for modern diffuse x- ray and neutron scattering methods. In the 60's Dr Sparks obtained pyrolitic graphite samples from Union Carbide Corporation. He recognized the potential of man-made graphite crystals to vastly increase the efficiency of x-ray and neutron optics and worked with researchers at Union Carbide Corporation to perfect the performance of graphite monochromators and spectrometers. By combining the natural tendency of mosaic graphite crystals to focus in the plane of scatter with out-of-plane focusing based on curved surfaces, Dr. Sparks created doubly focusing crystal optics still widely used around the world. A careful experimentalist, in the 70's Dr. Sparks discovered previously unsuspected inelastic scattering that contributed significant background to his diffuse x-ray scattering measurements. This "Resonant Raman X-ray Scattering" or "Sparks Scattering" was so unexpected, that although reviewers could find no fault in Dr. Spark's paper, they personally undertook experiments to test his results and verified, much to their surprise that he was right. Sparks scattering is now routinely used as a method to study the dynamics of x-ray induced atomic transitions. During the 70's Dr. Sparks became a strong advocate of emerging synchrotron radiation sources. He designed and implemented the first synchrotron-based x-ray fluorescence microprobe and with this instrument was able to convincingly show that primordial super-heavy elements did not exist in monazite inclusions at concentrations well below those suggested from proton microbeam measurements. This important work saved countless research hours and taxpayer dollars from a crash effort to understand the nature of long-lived super-heavy elements. In the 80's, Dr. Sparks proposed a new way to focus x-rays using bent perfect crystals. This method provides an order of magnitude greater intensity than alternative focusing methods and has been adopted at synchrotron facilities around the world. In addition to his scientific contributions Dr. Sparks was active in the Oak Ridge Community. He was particularly proud of his contributions as chief executive of the Anderson County Democratic party during the re-election campaign for Senator Al Gore Senior. He was also proud of his small contributions during the civil rights movement in Anderson County. Dr. Sparks and his wife Janet were active in the First Presbyterian Church Oak Ridge during the 60's and 70's and helped with the coffee house at the First Presbyterian Church. Dr. Sparks' knowledge of the Oak Ridge Community gave new comers a sense of security whenever they needed advise on home or car repairs. Although totally passionate about his work, Dr. Sparks had the ability to stop everything and help a friend or acquaintance in need Dr. Sparks is survived by: his devoted wife, Janet Elisabeth Sparks of Oak Ridge; his brother, Leland R. Sparks; and two sisters, Betty Jean Harp and Ida Frances Gullett of Lexington Kentucky; five children, Teresa Sparks-Scalia of Los Angeles, California, Wanet Sparks-Kuczynski of Durham, North Carolina, Linda Sparks-White of Maui, Hawaii, Jill Sparks of Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Brian Sparks of Knoxville, Tennessee. He has six grandchildren. A memorial service celebrating his life will be held Wednesday March 24 at 12:00 noon at the First Presbyterian Church, 1051 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. A potluck lunch will be held immediately after the service in the fellowship hall. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to The Nature Conservancy, Tennessee Headquarters, 2021 21st Ave. South, Suite C-400, Nashville, Tennessee, 37212 =========================================== SUPPORT OUR TROOPS---FLY THE FLAG "Genealogy is like playing hide and seek. They hide I seek!!! www.byrge.com/genealogy/ Searching: BYRGE/BUNCH/DAUGHERTY/DUNCAN/KENNEDY/ PATTERSON/PHILLIPS/SEIBER/TACKETT/WARD