| Sources |
- [S23] Atchley Funeral Home, (http://www.atchleyfuneralhome.com/), 21 Sep 2011.
Robert ''Bob'' Winton Presley
July 30, 1944 - September 21, 2011
Birthplace: Putnam County, TN
Resided In: Seymour Tennessee USA
Visitation: September 24, 2011
Service: September 24, 2011
Robert “Bob” Winton Presley, age 67, of Seymour, TN, passed away on September 21, 2011, at his home after a brief illness with cancer. He was a member of First United Methodist Church of Sevierville. Mr. Presley was born in Cookeville, Tennessee, and was the first son of the late Charles Warren Presley and Charlcie Matheney Presley, who currently resides in Sevierville. He is also survived by his wife of almost 47 years, Louise Stoddard Presley; his daughter, Brooke Presley Ownby, and her husband, Kevin Michael Ownby; a granddaughter, Kendall Morgan Ownby, and a grandson due in December, all of Seymour. He is also survived by a brother, David Warren Presley, of Washington state; an uncle, Cecil Ray Presley and his wife Grace; and an aunt, Jean Presley Watts, all of Baxter, TN, and many special cousins on both sides of his family.
His parents moved from Algood, TN, to this area when Bob was just six weeks old so his father could go to work on the Manhattan Project at the K-25 Plant. Of special note is that his family’s first rental home in Oak Ridge was a two-bedroom flattop house located at 68 Outer Drive. This is the very house that was donated by Dr. Kenneth and Isabelle Fitzpatrick Smith to the American Museum of Science and Energy (AMSE) in Oak Ridge to be reconstructed on the museum grounds as a symbol of Oak Ridge’s history during the Manhattan Project in time for the 60th anniversary of the AMSE and the Gate Opening Ceremony in March 2009. He loved to tell anyone who would listen “that he and Abe Lincoln both had their childhood homes in museums.”
Bob graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 1962, attended Tennessee Technological University for three years, and served as a Tank Driver and Army Cook in the Tennessee Army National Guard. He went to work for Union Carbide Nuclear Division at the Mouse House in the Biology Division as an Animal Handler/Supervisor for ORNL at Y-12. He then transferred to the Y-12 Plant as a Materials Dispatcher. He held successive jobs in the Product Engineering Division area working on weapons production. He also worked with Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos National Labs, with the Pantex facility in Texas, and at the Nevada Test Site. In his later years of employment at Y-12 under DOE Contractors Lockheed Martin and BWXT Y-12 and because of his extensive knowledge of Y-12, he was involved as a protocol official for tours at all of Oak Ridge’s government facilities of Tennessee’s elected officials, U.S. military officials, and U.S. Cabinet members such as Secretaries of Energy. He then received a Presidential appointment from President George W. Bush in September 2001 to serve on the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health (for sick weapons facility workers), a position he still held serving President Barack Obama. He retired from Y-12 in 2002 after 36 years of vast experience. Since retirement he has held consulting jobs with Pro2Serve until 2008 and was currently employed by M.S. Technology, Inc.
Outside of work activities, he became a community volunteer. He joined the Oak Ridge Jaycees and helped with the very first Special Olympics in Oak Ridge. He was also actively involved in the Tennessee Jaycees, where he served as a District 14 Director, Commander of the Volunteer Corps in 1983-1984, on the Board of Directors for Camp Discovery in Gainesboro, and was a Tennessee Jaycees International Senator. He next became involved in the Anderson County Fair and the Tennessee Association of Fairs. He served positions as East TN Director and East TN Vice President of the Tennessee Association of Fairs, becoming TAF’s President in 1992, visiting 36 fairs across Tennessee that year. After his term as TAF President he became President of the Anderson County Fair for a number of years. In 1995, he helped Lockheed Martin Energy Systems start a “Help to the Smokies” employee volunteer project while still actively employed at Y-12, rehabilitating picnic areas in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a project which is continued today by BWXT Y-12. He and Louise have volunteered many hours since 2004 on behalf of the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center in Townsend. He also served on the Townsend Planning Commission as a non-resident member.
His hobbies included spending time with family and friends, competitive barbeque cooking and judging, researching family genealogy, traveling, and collecting antiques. He loved cooking for his church families at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Oak Ridge and for First United Methodist Church in Sevierville.
Louise and Brooke would like to thank their family, longtime friends, church families, neighbors, and healthcare providers for their love, prayers, and support during Bob’s illness. The family will have a private graveside service. They will receive friends on Saturday, September 24th from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm at First United Methodist Church in Sevierville, from, with a ”Celebration of Life and Service of Death and Resurrection,” officiated by Pastor Andrew Henry and Associate Pastor Bruce Adams at 3:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to: First United Methodist Church , 214 Cedar Street, Sevierville, TN 37862; the American Museum of Science and Energy, designated to the Flattop House Preservation, 300 South Tulane Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830; or the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, Post Office Box 268, Townsend, TN 37882. Atchley Funeral Home, Sevierville, is in charge of the arrangements.
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1944 - 2011 (67 years)
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