Jim Womack

Jim Dabney Womack, Sr.

Knoxville, TN

Jim Womack was born to Henry Archer and Nelle Parsons Womack in Johnson City in 1926. In 1944, after graduation from Science Hill High School in Johnson City, he enlisted in the Navy where he served as a classified documents technician at Navy Pier in Chicago. When he was discharged in 1946 after WWII, he returned to his family who had moved to Knoxville, which became his life-long home. The first Sunday home, still wearing his uniform, he met the love of his life, Charlotte Ann Claiborne, at Fairmont Presbyterian Church. With a little matchmaking by their mothers, the two began dating and were married four years later.

While in college, Jim and two friends founded the Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship chapter at the University of Tennessee. Jim worked a variety of jobs to put himself through school, from filming heart surgeries to photography to working as an audio recording engineer, recording music directly to disk. He went on to graduate from the University of Tennessee where he performed stream pollution control research and taught classes in the Engineering School through the '60s. From there he went on to work as an engineer for several environmental concerns until he settled at the Atmospheric Turbulence Lab at Oak Ridge Associated University. While there, he created pioneering air quality measurement systems for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that were installed around the world. A colleague once wryly remarked, "Womack, if they were sending me to the moon on a rocket made with nothing but rubber bands, glue, and paper clips, I'd want you as the project engineer." He took that as his greatest professional compliment ever. From the early '60s until he was made emeritus in this decade, Jim was an elder at Cedar Springs Presbyterian. One of his most interesting projects was bringing evangelist and philosopher Francis Schaeffer to the church in 1983 for Schaeffer's last conference before his death the next year.

Jim loved studying, well, just about everything, from science to history, to mechanics, to physics, to philosophy. He loved walking in the mountains, traveling to England and Scotland with Charlotte, and building projects in his home workshop. He was known to a have a quick wit, a soft heart, a dry sense of humor, and extreme loyalty to his friends. His deep love for the Lord God, his profound curiosity, and his reasoned outlook informed all of his life and gave him great peace with the world. James Womack passed peacefully into the presence of his Lord, Tuesday December 1, 2015, at age 89. He leaves his best friend and beloved wife of 66 years, Charlotte, his three loving sons and their wives, James Jr., Bob and Ruth, and Scott and Dawn, as well as eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Semper Coram Deo – Always in the presence of God.

Funeral Services will be held at 2:30 PM, Saturday, December 5:00 ,at Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church, 9132 Kingston Pike, with Pastor John Wood officiating. The family will receive friends following the service. In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations in his memory be made to Oak Seed Ministries P.O. box, 607 Dunn Loring, VA 22027 or Cedar Springs Missions Fund, 9132 Kingston Pike 37923. Arrangements are under the direction of Rose Mortuary Mann Heritage Chapel 6200 Kingston Pike. Please leave condolences at www.rosemortuary.com.