Joseph Waverly Rowell

BRISTOL, Tenn. - Joseph Waverly Rowell, 81, of Bristol died Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2006, at his home. He was born in Surry, Va., to the late Joseph W. and Mary Elizabeth Bell Rowell and had lived in Bristol since 1952. He was a graduate of the University of Virginia and was a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II. Joe was a former professional baseball player and was retired from Dillard Paper Co. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church where he had served as a deacon and an elder. He had served as president of the Bristol Host Lions Club and the Bristol Tigers. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Salvation Army and was a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow. Survivors include his wife, Frances Proffit Rowell; four sons, Steve Rowell and his wife, Nancy, of Winston-Salem, and their children, Kathryn and Jeff; Brent Rowell and his wife, Phantipa, of Lexington, Ky., and their daughter, Andrea; John Rowell and his wife, Kathleen, of Valle Cruces, N.C., and their children Grey, Logan and Thomas; and David Rowell and his wife, Lisa, of Winston-Salem, N.C., and their children, Michael, Emily and Nathan. Joe will be remembered for his love of woodworking, antiques, antique-car restoration, traveling and sports, particularly baseball, golf, tennis and fishing. Most of all, he loved all his neighbors, friends and family and was so appreciative of all their many kindnesses and prayers over the past year. The committal service and interment will be conducted at 3 Sunday afternoon, Jan. 29, in Glenwood Cemetery. A memorial service will be conducted at 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 29, at First Presbyterian Church in Bristol. Dr. Gordon Turnbull will officiate at both services. The family will receive friends immediately after the memorial service in the church fellowship hall. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to First Presbyterian Church, 701 Florida Ave., Bristol, TN 37620; The Salvation Army, P.O. Box 887, Bristol, TN 37621; Wellmont Hospice, 280 Steele's Road, Bristol, TN 37620; or to the Joe and Frances Rowell Scholarship Fund, Wake Forest University, P.O. Box 7227, Winston-Salem, NC 27109. Mr. Rowell and his family are in the care of Oakley-Cook Funeral Home and Crematory, Bristol.