Nathanial Anderson

Nathaniel H. Anderson, 79, passed away Friday, Oct. 7, 2016, at his residence. He was born in Beggs, Okla., on March 21, 1937, to Allie Bee Anderson and Beatrice Walker Anderson. He was the fifth child of 15 children. He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1956. During his high school years, he lettered in football and baseball and was a member of the Student Council and the Industrial Arts Club. He received a four year athletic scholarship to Tennessee State University and was a member of the 1956 Black College Football Championship team. Nathaniel "Nate" was inducted into the TSU Football Hall of Fame in 1996. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Arts Education from Tennessee State University and continued his education at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and University of Georgia. In 2012, he was inducted into the Booker T. Washington High School Hall of Fame. He married his high school sweetheart and fellow TSU alumni, Annie Gail McGhee, in 1960. They become residents of Chattanooga, in 1961. Nate was the only African-American official to officiate the first and second Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association Championship football games. As the first African-American in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, he officiated five years. He later became president of said association. He has officiated at several NCAA Division 1, AA postseason games, the 2nd and 4th SEC Champion games, as well as many bowl games including the 78th Annual Rose Bowl game in the 1992 in Pasadena, Calif. Nathaniel was a lifetime member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. of Chattanooga. Nathaniel has been a member of Warren Chapel AME Church since 1962. He was employed by the Chattanooga City School System as assistant principal at Kirkman High School and Driver's Education teacher. He was inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame in 2010 and is on exhibit at the Bessie Smith Hall. He was a mentor for the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. He was preceded in death by his parents, Allie Bee and Beatrice Anderson; three sisters, Della M. Ray, Willie V. Rex and Emily R. Wallace; six brothers, Alpha L. Anderson, A. B. Anderson, Jr., Charles W. Anderson, Roy Anderson, Clarence Anderson, Travis L. Anderson; nephew, Joseph Evans. He leaves to mourn his wife, Annie Gail Anderson; son, Aaron Anderson; daughter, Angie James, of Murfreesboro; two granddaughters, Ja'Sonna Anderson and Na'Ja Anderson; great-grandson, King Richardson; three sisters, Loredia J. Gilmore, Clarice Golden, of Oakland, Calif., and Dottie M. Atwine, of Tulsa, Okla.; two brothers, Timothy L. Anderson, of Oakland, Calif., and Edward D. Anderson, of Stephenville, Texas; a host of other relatives and friends. The funeral service will be held at noon Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016 at Warren Chapel AME, with Pastor Pedro Basden officiating. Interment in Lakewood Memory Gardens, East. The body will lie in state after noon today; the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Ceremony will begin at 5:30 p.m., and the family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m., at John P. Franklin Funeral Home, 1101 Dodds Avenue, 622-9995.

This obituary was originally published in the Chattanooga Times Free Press.