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Arthur Wills Lavidge, Jr.
Knoxville, TN
Arthur Wills Lavidge, Jr. age 97, died peacefully at Parkwest Medical Center on Friday evening, January 5, 2018. Born in 1920, he was a Chicago native and 1942 graduate of DePauw University in Greencastle, IN, where he was a Rector Scholar, a member of Delta Upsilon, and captain of the football and baseball teams. In WWII he served as an officer in the Navy Air Corps as an instructor of flight instructors. Following the war, he attended graduate school at Northwestern University. In late 1947, he and his wife, Towns, moved to Knoxville, her hometown. At the University of Tennessee he was an advertising and marketing instructor and worked for WNOX radio station before founding his advertising and marketing agency in 1950, Lavidge and Davis. In 1967, he started Lavidge and Associates, Inc. and built the first full service ad agency facility in the SE which included TV production studios, photography, and in-house linotype. Branch offices were established in Atlanta, Chattanooga and Greensboro, NC.
During the '50s and '60s he was instrumental in the development of the Atlantic Coast Conference basketball network and later produced TV shows, movies, 18 winning political campaigns, and authored several books including "A Commonsense Guide to Professional Advertising," which was used by many advertising education courses throughout the country. Professional recognition included being the 1996 Outstanding Marketing Professional by the American Marketing Association, Knoxville chapter, and honored by the American Advertising Federation as an initial inductee of the first Knoxville Advertising Hall of Fame.
In the Knoxville community, Lavidge was on the Business Trust for the Arts Executive Committee and a major fundraiser for a variety of causes including the East Tennessee Children's Hospital and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. At the request of the Episcopal Bishop, he helped raise the funds to build the Church of the Ascension and Church of the Good Samaritan, where he served as Senior Warden before returning to St. John's Cathedral. In addition, for many years he was an enthusiastic and supportive member of the Rotary Club of Knoxville and a Paul Harris Fellow. With his daughter, he also established and funded the Lamp Foundation in 1998 which provides support for nonprofit organizations.
When Lavidge was six years old, his father, CFO of Burlington Railways, taught him and his younger brother, Bob, to play golf and bridge, both of which he enjoyed throughout his life. In 1989-1990, he served as President of the Southern Senior Golfing Association and played golf worldwide throughout his life. A natural teacher and extraordinary athlete (recruited by the Philadelphia Eagles), he was always positive and optimistic.
Besides his advertising career, Lavidge had an entrepreneurial spirit. He would acquire companies that were under marketed, turn them around and sell them, such as Donald Duck orange juice. When his close friend Chester Massey suggested that he and Art should build their own golf course, they created Fox Den Development Corporation and Art was its President.
Of all the places around the world that he and his late, beloved wife, Towns, traveled, his favorite was High Hampton Inn in Cashiers, NC, where he had a second home. He was a handsome Navy pilot when he met Towns in Atlanta, GA, while she was visiting her aunt, Mrs. Josiah Sibley, in the spring of 1945. They fell in love immediately, married in September at St. John's Episcopal Church and honeymooned at High Hampton. During their 50 plus years of marriage, they always spent their anniversaries at High Hampton where they were members of The Colony Club.
Art loved his family, the Episcopal church, his businesses, his friends of all ages, Knoxville and Cashiers, NC, golf, bridge, flying, traveling the world, the arts and reading. Every morning he would put on a coat and tie and read the Wall Street Journal. He also loved The Economist and The New Yorker magazines. Most of all, he was exceedingly curious and a natural teacher and leader who was kind, thoughtful, and witty beyond belief.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Arthur Wills Lavidge, Sr. and Mary James Lavidge; wife, Towns Bruner Lavidge; brother, Robert James Lavidge, and sister-in-law, Margaret Lavidge; sister-in-law Ethel Bruner Campbell; sons, Arthur Wills Lavidge, III and Robert Lyle Lavidge. He is survived by his daughter, Townes Lavidge Osborn, and her husband, Robert S. Marquis; granddaughter, Townes Osborn Miller and her husband, Charles Miller; grandson, Alexander Lavidge; nieces, Margaret Gosselink (TX), Kathleen Lavidge (CA), Lynn Rovelstad (CA), Kathy Morgan (TX) and Towns Richardson (KY); nephew, Bill Lavidge (AZ); eleven grandnieces and nephews; three great-grandnieces and one great-grandnephew; many friends and his devoted, gifted caregivers, Vicky Bayless and Joyce Odiyi.
A memorial service will be held at St. John's Episcopal Cathedral on Friday, January 12, 2018, at 11 a.m. with the Very Reverend John C. Ross officiating. The family will receive friends after the service in the Great Hall. Memorial contributions may be made to St. John's Cathedral, 413 West Cumberland Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902. Online condolences may be received at www.rosemortuary.com. Arrangements by Rose Mortuary Mann Heritage Chapel.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Sponsored by Rose Funeral & Cremation - Mann.
Mr. Lavidge gave me my first paid writing gig out of college, as a copywriter at Lavidge & Associates. Even though I had zero experience working at an ad agency, he saw something in my writing and gave me a shot. I remember riding with him and another employee out to one of the dams when he had me writing copy for the Tennessee Valley Authority; he stopped on the side of the road when I became carsick and somehow managed to assuage my embarrassment. He even gave me a corner office in the cool modern L&A building in Knoxville, where I was allowed to shut the door and write short stories when I wasn't doing work for the agency.
Mr. Lavidge also introduced me to my first and best boss, Hal Ernest, who taught me so much. I will always be grateful to Mr. Lavidge for inviting me into that world.
Michelle Richmond
Work
September 6, 2021
An amazing man to work for. He gave me my first job as a photographer and I will always be grateful. The heart of a teacher and a voice like thunder. Always learned something new from him every day. I regret not telling him how much he changed my life. He will never be forgotten...Go with god my friend....Dennis Gregg
Dennis Gregg
Coworker
March 20, 2018
Dennis Gregg
March 20, 2018
Ron and I just got back into town and learned of your father's passing. Please accept our deepest sympathies and know that our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Peggy Turner
January 12, 2018
Very privileged to have worked for him many years ago. He hired the greatest people to work with. He was a kind friend and teacher.
Bob Longmire
Coworker
January 12, 2018
Dear Townes,
you know we loved all the moments with him during the trip in Hungary. He was such a kind gentleman. We share in your loss. RC&IWC Members
Erzsebet Pak
January 11, 2018
Sending love and light, prayers for peace and comfort, and deep appreciation for a hardworking, creative wunderkind who taught us so much.
Susan Napier-Sewell
January 11, 2018
I learned more about advertising/marketing and business from Art Lavidge than any other person in my career. What an incredible life he lived and impacted so many. I know you are grateful for the memories you will share for years to come.
Traci Topham
January 10, 2018
A great man, and a life well lived. We share in your loss.
Sherman & Pati Johnson
January 9, 2018
Dear Townes and Family,
We are sorry for your loss, but join you in celebrating his life so, so well lived! He was an inspiration to so many. Blessings and peace to all of you.
Kathryn & Breese Johnson
January 9, 2018
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