John Thomas Brice

Got time for a quick story?

Of course you do.

Opened with that simple six-word question, stories from John Thomas Brice always garnered an audience, willing or otherwise, and the story of John Thomas Brice is one to remember.

Details make every story, and details embody his life story.

John Thomas Brice was born May 17, 1951, at tiny, stone-faced Lyons Hospital in Rogersville, Tennessee, and passed away at his home in Surgoinsville's Carters Valley July 8, 2022, at precisely 1:38 p.m. He was surrounded by his best friend and wife of nearly 51 years, Frances, and the youngest of their four children, Katie (Brice) Morris, following his nearly year-long battle with inoperable pancreatic cancer.

Born in rural East Tennessee before spending most of his formative years growing up in the Cincinnati, Ohio, suburb of Hamilton and then returning to East Tennessee with his parents, the late Charmaine and Chalmer Brice, as well as his only sibling, his sister Judy R. Brice, John T. Brice met his eventual bride, Frances, as she was neighbor to his grandmother, Constance "Connie" Brice, of Surgoinsville.

Asked recently to retell that story, he said simply, "Well, it's a pretty easy one to tell, as you probably know. She lived beside my grandmother, and after a couple of days, I said, 'I've got to figure out a way to meet her.'"

The rest, of course, is history. Their inseparable history, from their 1971 marriage in Kingsport, Tennessee, to their relocation to Morristown, Tennessee, where his career in the banking and finance industries that spanned parts of six decades would primarily unfold. From Hamilton Bank to Jefferson Federal to SunTrust Bank and, for the final decade, when retirement was an option but he wanted to continue to serve a fiercely loyal and dedicated client base, as well as help provide for his family long after his time on Earth, with his own franchise of Southern Heritage Financial Group.

Morristown is, of course, where they would join Centenary United Methodist Church, buy their first home together in 1982 and raise their four children, from oldest daughter Kristi Melissa (Brice) Lovin, to first son, John David Brice, to youngest son, Thomas Clifton Brice and youngest daughter, the most selfless caregiver of the quartet, Katie Elizabeth (Brice) Morris.

Upon his graduation from the University of Tennessee in the mid-1970s, John T. continued his budding and passionate fandom of the Tennessee Vols, holding football season tickets inside Neyland Stadium - south upper deck, section JJ, row 6 for so many years; finally treating his wife and himself to better tickets in section r on the lower west side a couple decades ago - from 1976 through 2021. Given his penchant for details, he has the detailed ticket stub collection from this fandom - replete with rulered margins and, where necessary, hand-cut crisped ticket edges.

Still, for all those football streaks - and his last in-person Vols football game was last fall at Kentucky, extending a consecutive games streak of some 50 years; his final in-person live sporting event an Atlanta Braves-Chicago Cubs game April 28, 2022, in Atlanta to celebrate Frances' birthday - he took far more pride in the streaks of dedicated membership and service at Centenary; of being a worship leader with some of the worst "Dad" jokes of all-time - especially if he could link together a congregant's birthday with an area speed limit; and his steadfast devotion to the church, to God, the Bible and his family.

See, those are the details that matter the most about the life of John Thomas Brice.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Charmaine and Chalmer Brice; his mother-and-father-in-laws, Ellen "Susie" and Ralph "Rowdy" Bennett; an infant brother, William David; his brother-in-law, Raymond Bennett.

He is survived by his wife, Frances; his brother-in-law, Roger "Butch" Bennett; his and Frances' four children and their families: Kristi and Chris Lovin, as well as oldest grandson and 2022 class valedictorian who scored a perfect 36 on his ACT, Parker Brice Lovin; John David and Jessica (Jackman) Brice, to whom his final words, when told she was in the room to visit him in his final days, were "Can't beat that," along with a wink; Thomas Clifton and wife, Ashley, as well as children: Hunter James (13), Savannah Grace (8), Sadie Elizabeth (7); Katie Elizabeth (Brice) Morris and husband, Brent, as well as youngest grandson, John Bennett Morris, who also was a fixture at his grandfather's side in his final months, weeks and days, as well as John Bennett's upcoming sibling, a young boy due in January. He also is survived by his loving sister, Judy R. Brice, a retired elementary school teacher who shared a special bond with her brother and their partnership in the family's farming operations.

Mayes Mortuary will be handling all arrangements with Minister Vivian Reed presiding. Services will be held at Centenary United Methodist Church in Morristown on Monday, July 11th, with visitation from 4:00 - 7:00pm and the funeral to begin at 7:00pm. Burial will be Tuesday morning at 11:00am on the Brice Family Farm.