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Sammy Michael Parham
Funeral services for Mr. Sammy Michael Parham, age 74 of Manchester, will be conducted at 2:00PM on Monday, May 2, 2022, at Coffee County Funeral Chapel. Burial will follow in Forest Mill Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 3:00PM until 7:00PM on Sunday, May 1, 2022, at the funeral home. Mr. Parham passed from this life surrounded by his loving family on Wednesday, April 27, 2022, in Manchester.
Sammy was born in Crossville, TN on June 23, 1947, the son of the late Claude and Mary Jane Parham. He was a heavy equipment operator for many years. Sammy enjoyed hunting in his spare time. Whether it was squirrels, deer, rabbits, or raccoons, you could always find Sammy outside hunting. He was also a very good dog trainer, but most importantly, family was the number one thing in Sammy’s life. He was a loving and devoted husband, father, and grandfather.
In addition to his parents, Sammy is also preceded in death by his beloved wife, Edna Parham; brother, Joe Parham; sister, Carolyn Bush. He is survived by his daughter, Barbara Hyde (Ronnie); son, Michael Phillips; brothers, Sidney, Donnie, Gary, and Terry Parham; sister, Reta Parham; grandchildren, Chris Duke, Lindsey Duke, Danielle Phillips, and Heather Payne; great-grandchildren, Corbin, Landry, Spencer, Victoria, Chelsea, Rachel, and Haley; 5 great-great-grandchildren.
Coffee County Funeral Chapel is honored to serve the Parham family.
John William Ray
John William Ray of Estill Springs passed this life on Tuesday, April 25 at
NHC of Tullahoma at the age of 69. No services are scheduled.
A native of Franklin County, he was the son of the late Billy Hoyt and Rita
Hill Ray. He enjoyed fishing, collecting antiques and going to yard sales.
He played Baseball when he was young and was an avid Braves fan.
Mr. Ray is survived by his wife, Polly Ray of Estill Springs; daughters,
April Baker (Matthew) of Tullahoma and June Sims (Calvin) of Tullahoma;
brothers, Mike Ray (Debbie) of Cowan and Greg Ray (Beverly) of Idaho;
grandchildren, Bethany Stratton (Jeff), Taylor Ellis and Eric Latham and
great grandchildren, Landon and Emma Stratton.
Online condolences may be made at www.davesculbertsonfuneralhome.com.
Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Vicki Sue Taylor
Vicki Sue Taylor, of Tullahoma, passed this life on Monday, April 25 th , 2022 at Life Care Center at the age of 64. Vicki was preceded in death by her mother, Edna Vaughn Oakley and her husband Wendell II; and one sister, Jennifer Taylor Halsey. She is survived by her father, Jim (Brenda) Taylor; special friend, Stephanie Thompson; half-sister, Jimi Dee (Josh) Clark; step-siblings, Wendell (Debra) Oakley III, Kim (Lynn) Oakley, Ryan (Elizabeth) Yantz, and Laryssa (Scott) King. A graveside service will be held on Friday, April 29 th , 2022 at 1:00pm at Powell Cemetery in the Raus Community in Bedford County.
Kilgore Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Drug take back day is Saturday; drop event in Tullahoma
National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is Saturday, April 30.
The aim of the event is to provide a safe, convenient and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.
There will be an event in Tullahoma at the Walmart on North Jackson Street from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 30 for you to dispose of unwanted, unused or expired prescription medications.
Manchester Police Department has a permanent drop box at Manchester City Hall for dropping medications any other time of the year.
Founder of Coffee County Children’s Advocacy Center receives award
PRESS RELEASE
Bonnie Watts, founder of Coffee County Children’s Advocacy Center, is the first recipient of the Melissa Johnson Children’s Champion Award.
Director of Coffee County CAC Joyce Prusak and Ward Johnson presented the award to Watts on Apr. 21, during the Play with a Purpose event of the center.
This award honors the memory of Melissa Johnson and her love of children, said Prusak.
“I am thankful to Mr. Ward Johnson for making this award possible and look forward to presenting it to others in the years to come,” Prusak said. “I can think of no better recipient than Bonnie for this first year.”
Watts, of Tullahoma, and a group of local activists with the Coffee County Church Women United founded the Coffee County CAC in 2004. The center opened officially and began serving children in 2005.
“The Board of Directors of the CAC decided to give this award to Bonnie because of her relentless commitment to getting the center started and her continuous support over the years,” Prusak said. “Bonnie was the driving force behind the group of women who started the planning meetings for the center and was responsible for getting the buy-in of so many community partners. Bonnie recognized a need in our community and found a way to help meet that need. She wanted children who experienced abuse to have a safe place to come. Her efforts made it possible for us to be able to help over 4,500 children so far.”
The Coffee County CAC serves children who have experienced severe abuse. The center provides services, including forensic interviews, family advocacy, therapy and medical exams, at no cost for children and their families. A referral for services must come from one of the center’s investigative partners. The Coffee County CAC is a nonprofit organization and it operates thanks to the help of businesses, organizations and individuals who support the center.
For more information about the center, visit coffeecountycac.org and follow Coffee County Children’s Advocacy Center on social media.
H&R BLOCK STUDENT OF THE WEEK – Kinsley Rogers
Join us at Thunder Radio and Rosalyn Partin of the Manchester H&R Block and congratulate our student of the week – Kinsley Rogers
Kinsley is a 5th grader at East Coffee Elementary School. She was nominated by her teachers and administrators. Kinsley is the daughter of Gage Rogers and the granddaughter of Elaine Haggard.
Her favorite subject is social studies. In her free time she enjoys writing.
All students of the week are selected for their work ethic and excellent attitudes in and out of the classroom.
Rosalyn Partin, owner of the Manchester H&R Block, has been inspired to recognize great kids in our community all year long. H&R Block gives each Student of the Week a commemorative plaque, a special letter of recognition and two tickets to Lake Winnepesaukah Amusement Park.
Job well done, Kinsley!
SOFTBALL: Westwood knocks off Liberty 10-4
Westwood pushed 10 runs across the plate to knock of Liberty 10-4 in the DRVC Tournament Wednesday night.
Lily Norman had a pair of singles and a pair of runs scored for the Lady Rockets. She also had an RBI. Jules Ferrell also singled and scored twice and knocked home a run.
Norman was dealing in the circle, striking out 12 Liberty batters in the win for Westwood.
BASEBALL: Raiders shutout Shelbyville 8-0
Jacob Holder turned in a gem on the mound the the Red Raiders of Coffee County cruised past Shelbyville 8-0 Wednesday night in Manchester – a game you heard live on Thunder Radio.
Holder was nearly unhittable for the Raiders. The junior right-hander was perfect through 4 and 1/3 before issuing a walk and surrendering a single in the fifth. He went on to throw a complete game, allowing just the one hit and walking two. He struck out 9 Eagles batters.
Meanwhile, the Raiders used 9 hits and 5 Eagles errors to push 8 runs across the plate. Brady Nugent, Caleb Moran, Holder, Aiden Robertson and Andrew Dawson all picked up an RBI. All 9 Coffee County hits were singles.
THIS GAME WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON THUNDER RADIO. CLICK HERE FOR A BROADCAST REPLAY.
Caleb Moran 
Caleb Moran 
Aiden Robertson 
Cole Pippenger 
Caleb Moran 
Cole Pippenger 
Brady Nugent 
Thunder Radio Photos by Holly Peterson
Birthdays – April 27
Ellen Vaughn
Tonya Rogers
Andrea Moore
Audri Barton- Pizza Winner!
William Eugene Smith
William Eugene Smith of Tullahoma, TN passed away on Monday, April 25,
2022, at the age of 82 surrounded by his family.
He was born to parents William Elbert and Marie Smith, on December 21,
1939, in Salem, IL. He served his country honorably in the Marines. Bill
worked as an engineer on Union Pacific for 30 years.
Bill was predeceased by his parents William and Marie Smith. He is
survived by his wife Phyllis of 40 years, son Rodger (Chasidy) Smith,
daughters Rebecca (Kenny) Zinser, Robin (Roland) Bruyns as well as his
grandsons, Alex, Derek, Colin, and Owen.
Bill was known for his love of fishing and golf, easy laugh, and generous
spirit. He lived a full life filled with joy and kindness.
Visitation will be held on Saturday, April 30, 2022 from 2:00 – 3:00 with
services to follow immediately after. Services will be at the First United
Methodist Church, 65 Mechanic Street North, Lynchburg, TN 37352.
Lynchburg Funeral Home is honored to serve the Smith family. If you would
like to leave online condolences, please visit our website at
www.lynchburgfuneralhome.com.