From The Oak Ridger 29 Jun 2004 Wesley Martin Johnson, 85, of Oak Ridge, Robert "Bob" Taylor Land Jr., 81, of Oliver Springs, formerly of Oak Ridge, Chole H. Liles, 80, of Oliver Springs, R.C. Phillips, 70, of Clinton, died John William Staley, 58, Wesley Martin Johnson, 85, of Oak Ridge, died Sunday, June 27, 2004. Born Aug. 11, 1918, in Spencer, he was the son of Ira Otis Johnson and Sallie Mohon Johnson. His family moved to Chattanooga in 1925. Mr. Johnson received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tennessee, where he attended as a co-op student, working for Chattanooga Electric Power Board. He was a lifetime active member of the Church of Christ. He served as a deacon at Cedar Hill Church of Christ during the late 1940s. After moving to Kansas City in 1949, he was involved in establishing a new congregation of the church in Grandview, Mo. Later, moving to New York, N.Y., he served as an elder of the Manhattan Church of Christ and for the past several years as an elder of the New York Avenue Church of Christ in Oak Ridge. He met his wife, Pauline Peden Johnson, at the Ridgedale Church of Christ in Chattanooga and they were married in 1940. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and pulled duty in both the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters of the war. In August 1946, he went to work with the Corps of Engineers at Oak Ridge. When the Atomic Energy Commission was established, he was transferred to a new weapons production facility at Kansas City, Mo. In 1955, he was appointed manager of the Kansas City Field office. In 1957, he was transferred to the New York Operations office where he climbed to the position of manager. When the New York office was closed, he went to Chicago, Ill., to consolidate the two offices. He later transferred to the Oak Ridge Operations office as assistant manager of research and development. He retired in 1974. While in New York, he went to McMurdo Sounds in the Antarctic, as the contracting officer, to oversee the installation and startup of the PM-3A nuclear power plant. From there he went to the South Pole and to Byrd Station. In addition to his parents and his wife, he was preceded in death by a brother, I.O. Johnson Jr., of Knoxville. Mr. Johnson is survived by his son, Wesley M. Johnson Jr. and wife, Sheryl Reagan Johnson, of Kingston; two grandsons, Scott Johnson and wife, Jennifer, of Fairfax, Va., and Steve Johnson and wife, Rachel, of Roanoke, Va; and by five great-grandchildren, Reagan, Cameron, MacKenzie, Casey and Andrew. The funeral will be at 8 p.m. Thursday, July 1, 2004, at Weatherford Mortuary with Milton Stanley, James Lampley, Gary Galloway and Harold Scott officiating. A graveside service will be at 11 a.m. Friday, July 2, at Oak Ridge Memorial Park. The family requests any memorials be in the form of contributions to Knoxville Christian School, 11549 Snyder Road, Knoxville, TN 37932. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the mortuary. An online guest book may be signed at www.weatherfordmortuary.com Robert "Bob" Taylor Land Jr., 81, of Oliver Springs, formerly of Oak Ridge, died Sunday, June 27, 2004, at his home. Mr. Land was born Feb. 20, 1923, in Athens. He graduated from McMinn County High School in May 1942. Following his graduation, he entered the U.S. Navy in January 1943. He continued to serve his country throughout the remainder of World War II, being discharged in January 1946. He retired from the State of Tennessee, Department of Wildlife Resources Agency, following 30 years of service. He was a faithful member of Central Baptist Church. He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert Taylor Land Sr. and Emily Fortner Land. Mr. Land is survived by his wife, Ruth Marie Land; his stepson, the Rev. Terry Moore and wife, Brenda, of Clinton; his step-grandsons, Bradley Allen Moore and wife, Karin, Jason Wayne Moore and wife, Becky, Joshua Moore and wife, Ashley, and Andrew Moore; his great-stepgrandson, Alex Moore; two sisters, Mary Ellen Burnett of Clinton and Madlyne Pirtle of Chattanooga; and by a host of special friends and extended family members. The funeral will be at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 30, 2004, at Central Baptist Church with the Rev. Terry Moore officiating. A graveside service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 1, at Anderson Memorial Gardens in Clinton. The family will receive friends from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the church. Sharp Funeral Home in Oliver Springs is in charge of arrangements. Chole H. Liles, 80, of Oliver Springs, died Sunday, June 27, 2004, at her home. Born March 28, 1924, in Anderson County and a lifelong resident of the area, Mrs. Liles was the daughter of Frank Hackworth and Lela Pearl Gutherie Hackworth. She was a member of Mount Carmel Presbyterian Church in Coalfield. Her family described her as a homemaker with many special interests, adding that flower and vegetable gardening were her greatest talents. They said she could rebirth a flower that looked doomed and grow vegetables in ways that most people would only hope to do so. Family members said she was always quick with advice about the ways things were done in the past. She knew the life of a farm girl and enjoyed talking about her youth. Mrs. Liles also loved local travel and keeping in touch with her old friends, according to her family. They also said she loved her pets, including dogs, cats, parrots and various wildlife that she fed from her back porch. In addition to her parents, Mrs. Liles was preceded in death by her husband, Raymond Liles, and a sister and three brothers, Lenora, Leon, Lawrence and Howard Hackworth. Mrs. Liles is survived by her sister, Althea Fox and husband, Charles, of Dutch Valley community; three nieces, Wilma Justice of Oak Ridge, Mildred Newton of California and Wanda Clark of Brentwood; 15 grandnieces and grandnephews, Sandra Poarch, Sharon Milam, Dana Baas, Anna Dewitt, Ginger Hamlin, Jeree Sharte, Andrew Clark, Amanda Clark, Henry Ayler, Stanley Ayler, Bruce Ayler, Steve Ayler, Dr. Julian Ayler, Alberta Ross and Mary Ellen Bodman; and several special friends, Helen Abston, Sylvia Russell, Marilyn Potter, Opal Liles, Geneva Vann, Jack D. and Evelyn Walls, Darlene Jackson, and Jimmy, Brenda and Rebekah Smith. A graveside service and burial will be held at 3 p.m. Friday, July 2, at the Oliver Springs Cemetery with Jimmy Smith officiating. Sharp Funeral Home in Oliver Springs is in charge of the arrangements. R.C. Phillips, 70, of Clinton, died Monday, June 28, 2004, at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge. He was preceded in death by his wife, Dallas Phillips; a daughter, Sara Lee Phillips; his parents, Harvey and Annie Phillips; four brothers, Joe Taylor Jr., Warren G. Taylor, William and Charles Ray Phillips; and by three sisters, Christine Taylor, Loretta Murray and Marie Bolling. Mr. Phillips is survived by his son, LeeRoy Phillips and wife, Norma, of Clinton; two daughters, Donna Kay Schwartz and husband, Michael, of Sufolk, Va., and Jennifer Phillips of Clinton; three sisters, Daisy Brummett of Oak Ridge, Allene Dixon of Knoxville and Rosalee Bean of Clinton; two brothers, Floyd Phillips of Crossville and Larry Phillips of Norris; and by four grandchildren, Michael Phillips, Jessica Phillips, Rebekah Schwartz and Mindy Schwartz. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 30, 2004, in the chapel of Holley-Gamble Funeral Home in Clinton with the Rev. Paul Cox and the Rev. Michael Phillips officiating. Burial will follow at Sunset Cemetery in Clinton. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 29, at the funeral home. John William Staley, 58, son-in-law of Claude and Jackie Jenkins of Oak Ridge, died Thursday, June 24, 2004, in Big Sky, Mont. Mr. Staley was a graduate of the University of Tennessee and served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years, with tours of duty in Vietnam and the Gulf War. After retiring from the Air Force, he was a pilot with United Air Lines for 13 years. Mr. Staley is survived by his wife of 35 years, Jeanette Jenkins Staley; his son, John William Staley Jr. and wife, Ellie, of Bozeman, Mont.; his daughter, Jenny Staley Murphy and husband, Darrell, of St. Louis, Mo.; and by one sister, Kathy Evans, of Bossier City, La. A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, July 1, 2004, at Weatherford Mortuary. A graveside service will immediately follow at Oak Ridge Memorial Park. A Military Honor Guard will be in order. The family requests any memorials be in the form of donations to the Air Force Aid Society Inc., Suite 202, 241 18th St., Arlington, VA 22202. =========================================== 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