In Memory of Past Members

We regret to announce the death of Gerald Leighton Ewell, Sr-N4GE who lived in Manchester Coffee County Tn.

He was a very long time member of MTARS, over 45 years, and a past officer. He did much work on our 146.10/70 repeater.

Graveside services for Mr. Ewell will be conducted on Saturday, December 11, 2021 at 2PM in the Manchester City Cemetery with military honors..

Gerald Leighton Ewell, Sr., of Manchester, died December 1, 2021. He was born July 3, 1929 to Leighton Ewell and Elizabeth Jameson Ewell, both of whom predeceased him, as did his sister, Corinne Ewell Spencer, and a nephew, Frank Ewell Spencer. He was married to his wife, Katherine, for over 60 years; but she predeceased him by three and a half years. He is survived by a daughter, Amy Ewell (Bunker) Stout; a son, Gerald L. Ewell, Jr., a grandson, Sam (Michelle) Stout and a granddaughter, Kirby Stout (Greg) Zora. He was a member of the Main Street church of Christ.

He graduated high school from Castle Heights Military Academy in Lebanon, Tennessee and received BA and JD degrees from Vanderbilt University, where he was President of his law fraternity; President of the Law School student body and Chief Justice of the Vanderbilt Moot Court.

Upon his return to Manchester from military service in the United States Navy; he practiced law and was an Assistant District Attorney for 15 years. In 1972, he was elected Circuit Judge for Coffee County and served continuously in this position for 26 years and intermittently thereafter at the call of the Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court. During this time, at the request of the Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court; he served at times on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals.

Judge Ewell was a member of many civic organizations; served on various municipal boards and commissions and was a member of the Manchester Board of Education for seven years, three years as Chairman. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of First National Bank of Manchester for more than 30 years. He was an avid ham radio operator holding Amateur Extra class ham radio license with the call signal containing his initials N4GE; he also flew radio-controlled model airplanes for more than 25 years and was a beekeeper for over 40 years, giving most of the honey he harvested to friends. At his death there had been a Ewell in continuous law practice in Coffee County for 120 continuous years.

In lieu of flowers; donations to The Tennessee Chapter of the ALS Association, Vanderbilt University or the charity of one’s choice would be appreciated.

John would often say there wasn't a single day that he didn't look forward to going to Arnold Center. He had built and flown his first toy model airplane at 12 years of age, and while working at Arnold happily said that he was paid for playing with the most sophisticated toys any young boy could ever hope to have.

John was a member of Sigma Xi, the scientific research society, and was an Associate Fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) until his retirement. John had 35 formal publications and many research notes, analyses, and other informal documentation of his work. He orally presented the papers at AIAA conferences around the country.

John was a member of the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Tullahoma where he served as president twice and was a regular lay speaker. He was also a co-founder of the Tullahoma Hands-On Science Center, contributing to the logo’s design. He designed the first interactive exhibit in the Science Center called Race with the Animals in 1995. The exhibit was an instant success and served to draw more children to the Science Center and, according to the Center, has remained a children’s favorite to this day.

John had many interests and excelled in a variety of areas. Self-taught at carpentry, masonry, plumbing and electrical maintenance, he completed many complex construction projects around the house and fixed anything that was broken. He typically performed his own car repair and kept his cars spotless. He played piano, collected albums and CDs and greatly enjoyed music of many genres. He was an avid reader and stayed current on national and international affairs, offering his opinions on it all. During various times in his life, he engaged in photography and developed his own slides; learned Morse Code and obtained his ham radio operator’s license; enjoyed baking breads, continually improving his recipes for pizza dough, biscuits, and yeast breads. He played tennis and swam; bought an 18-foot sailboat and taught himself and his children how to sail on Normandy Lake and Woods Reservoir; obtained a professional engineer’s license, a surveyors’ license and was a talented sketch artist and cartoonist, drawing and painting his own cartoons for his and Charlotte’s Christmas cards.

John and Charlotte lived in Tullahoma for 40 years then moved to Nashville in 2005 to be closer to their children and grandchildren who reside in the area.

Loved Amateur Radio and all of the activities which it holds. great Carpenter, mechanic, plumber, Handy Man!

Claud Alfred “Buddy” Chellstorp, age 78, passed away on Wednesday, May 26 2021 at his residence surrounded by his family. Buddy was born on February 12, 1943 to Claus and Ruth Chellstorp in Fairfield, Alabama. He grew up in Birmingham, along with his sister, Gladys Chellstorp Dunn. He attended Columbia Military Academy in Columbia, TN and later served in the United States Air Force and worked for Lockheed Aircraft and LSI Inc. in aircraft technical support. Buddy is survived by his loving wife, Charlotte Diane Crump Chellstorp and has three children, Melissa Byars, Janet (Jeff) Wooten, and Chad (Chelsea) Chellstorp; six grandchildren, Keith and Hunter (Lesley) Byars, Jarrett and Jenna Wooten, Forrest and Chase Chellstorp; and one great-granddaughter, Brynlie Byars; one sister, Gladys Dunn; special niece and nephew, Kathy Peters and David Dunn; as well as many other nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by one brother-in-law, Roy Dunn. He and his family moved to Coffee County in 1972. Buddy early on became an entrepreneur, starting Communications Specialist (a two-way radio enterprise), Coffee County Answering Service, and was instrumental in building and managing the TV Cable system in Manchester. He also started A1 Paging, and was a long-time member of First United Methodist Church in Tullahoma. Buddy became a ham radio operator and was a member of the Ham Radio Club. His call number was W4KTK. Buddy was a board member of the Tullahoma Airport Authority, the Treis County Chapter of the American Red Cross, and the noon Tullahoma Rotary Club. He was also an avid aviator with a strong passion for flying. Buddy was honored to be invited to accompany German captains in the cockpit of German Lufthansa Airlines while on a family trip to Germany. Buddy holds an FAA Commercial Multi Engine Instrument Pilot Rating. Visitation will be held on Saturday, June 5 2021 at Kilgore Funeral Home from 12:00pm-2:00pm with the funeral to immediately follow at 2:00pm with Rev. Rickey Wade officiating. Burial will follow at Rose Hill Memorial Gardens. For those who wish, in lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Buddy’s memory to St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

It is with a saddened heart that I inform you of the passing of Bruce L. Nebergall, (K4TQL).

Bruce was one of the founding members of the MTARS club and an active AF MARS member for over 50 years.

He also worked at AEDC in the early 1970’s. Our prayers and condolences go out to Bruce's family

May he rest in peace.

Brad was the main VE Examiner Mgr for the club and surrounding areas. He did this for 30+ years and was glad and proud to do it !

Buddy was very kind man, all his life. He strongly supported our club in several ways.

He loved flying his plane, smoking BBQ and of course Amateur Radio & giving Ham Exams!

Obituary for William Eugene Richison

William Eugene "Buddy" Richison was born on May 6th, 1930 to Mary Elizabeth (Marris) and Lee Cole Richison in Haywood, Oklahoma.

He proudly served his country in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean and Vietnam era. He eventually retired from the Air Force as a Senior Master Sergeant.

Buddy then worked as a professor in Nashville, teaching flight lessons. William Eugene Richison went home to be with his Lord on Saturday, September 12th, 2020.

Buddy is survived by his wife, Marjorie Richison; daughter, Mary Helen Richison; son, Arthur Richison, and brother, Guy Richison.

Graveside Services will be on Wednesday, September 16th, 2020 at 12:00 PM at Little Kansas City Cemetery in Kansas, Oklahoma.

George S Cox W5GYR of Tullahoma passed this life on Sunday, December 13, 2020 at his residence at the age of 89. Mr. Cox, a native of Campti, LA, was the son of the late Ambrose and Virginia Perot Cox. He was a U S Navy veteran, serving during the Korean conflict. He enjoyed amateur radios and was a member of the Middle Tennessee Amateur Radio Society. He also enjoyed restoring and working on old vehicles.

Mr. Lewis passed away on Wednesday, April 12, 2017 at his residence, surrounded by his loving family.
Jess was born in Manchester, TN, the son of the late Jesse Wesley Lewis, Sr. and Louise Jernigan Lewis. He served his country in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War. He was an electronics technician for various companies, having retired from Nissan in Smyrna, TN. He was a member of the Ham Radio Club, having served as president and was an extra class ham operator (KR4OJ), holding a DXCC #1 honor roll certification. Jesse was also past president of the Coffee County Historical Society and the Coffee County Historian. He was a passionate Master Geocacher with the Over The Hill Gang and a published author of Tombstone Records of Cannon County, Tennessee.

Jesse is survived by his loving wife, Joanna Ewell Lewis; six children, James (Mary Lou) Harvill, Michael (Shawna) Lewis, Nicholas (Vicki) Lewis, Tracey (Tony) Suzzi, Stephanie (Jeff) Hayes, and Stephen Lewis; two brothers, Gary (Martha K. Otwell) Lewis and Mark (Debbie) Lewis; and seven grandchildren.

Husband of Jess Lewis (KR4OJ) Joanna served on the Army as a Nurse. She enjoyed the radio & Geochacer with Jess.

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Former Tennessee Section Manager Keith Miller, N9DGK, SK