Blas Pedro Fernandez

Blas P. "Chico" Fernandez, age 92, of Knoxville, TN, passed away on Tuesday, November 11, 2025. Chico was born and raised in Havana Cuba. His parents had nine children, eight boys and then one girl. While growing up in Cuba, he grew to love the game of baseball and at the age of 20 he made the decision to come to the United States to play professional minor league baseball. He played for several years and was a member of the Knoxville Smokies baseball team for his last four seasons. (1956-1959) While playing for the Smokies, he was set up on a blind date with a Miss Charlotte Ann Mynatt, a beautiful Knoxville girl. That blind date turned into a 7-year courtship followed by 60 years of marriage. He loved to tell people the story of the day they met on Gay Street in downtown Knoxville. After his baseball career, Chico worked briefly for K-Mart, and Millers department store, then was employed at Rohm and Haas for close to 20 years. When he worked at Millers, a co-worker invited Chico to go play a round of golf. That invitation to play golf was not just the beginning of a new hobby, but the beginning of a true love for the game of golf. That love of the game turned into a full-time career as a professional caddy on the PGA tour. He worked for many well-known professional golfers over a span of 42 years. His last tournament as a caddy was the Knoxville Open in 2019 at the age of 86. While working at Rohm and Haas, he started organizing golf tournaments with his golfing buddies. Planning and hosting the tournaments, which were appropriately named "The Chico Open", became a tradition that would continue for well over 30 years. The stories he told of his life in Cuba, his baseball career, and his work on the PGA tour could fill a book or two and he loved to tell those stories and share about all the wonderful experiences he was able to have in life. He felt very lucky to have come from Cuba to this country and have the opportunities that he had. He was a very proud and patriotic American citizen. Chico was the best kind of friend to have and made countless friends through the years. He was friends with some truly world-famous people but mainly he was a friend to anybody who needed one. He was the kind of friend who would leave groceries on your porch, visit you in the hospital, have new tires put on your car, or slip some money in your pocket. He had a most caring heart and if he knew of a friend in need he would help if he was able. Chico was a Christian, practicing the Catholic faith in his early years and then after settling in Knoxville, he was a faithful member at Fifth Avenue Baptist Church and then Wallace Memorial Baptist Church. We know without a doubt that he has been made new through his faith in Jesus. He is now reunited with Charlotte, and he is surely spending time checking the yardage as he walks the fairways of Heaven. Chico is survived by his daughter, Maria Fernandez; granddaughter, Rachael Walker, and her husband Joseph; grandson, Noah Muncy and his wife Kennedy; great-grandchildren, Vincent and Brooks Walker; his dear sister Beatriz Casteleiro; many beloved nieces and nephews; and his chosen family members, Tammie and Ralph Moore and their children: Marie, Michael, and Madison Moore. The family will receive friends on Saturday November 15th from 10:30 – 11:30am. at Gentry-Griffey Funeral Chapel and
Crematory (5301 Fountain Rd, Knoxville, TN 37918). A graveside service will be held at 1pm Saturday Novemeber15th at Lynnhurst Cemetery (2300 Adair Dr, Knoxville, TN 37918) with pastor Kent Williams officiating. Gentry-Griffey Funeral Chapel and Crematory is honored to serve the Fernandez family and invites you to sign the online registry at www.gentrygriffey.com. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Chico Fernandez, please visit our floral store. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Blas, please visit our floral store.