“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 5:8 KJV
“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” Psalm 116:15 KJV
Charles Allen Campbell, 69, of Kingsport TN, entered his eternal glory on Thursday, June 18, 2020, at his home surrounded by his loving family.
Allen was born and raised in Abingdon, VA on October 28, 1950, son of the late Charles G. Campbell and Marie Campbell. And he loved to tell people he was from UCLA, “Upper Corner, Lower Abingdon!” Being raised on a dairy farm, Allen was very active in 4H, showing dairy cattle in county fairs all over the area, and in Boy Scouts, attaining his Eagle Scout award. After graduation from Abingdon High School, he attended and graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1973 with a BS degree in Forestry and Wildlife, where his grandfather, D. J Campbell, graduated in 1919. He went to work for Weyerhaeuser in North Carolina, where he met his wife, Linda and married in May 1975. They moved to Kingsport, TN in December 1975, where Allen began work for Meade Paper Company, working for Meade and Willamette Industries for 25 years as a Procurement Forester. In 2000, Allen became self-employed as a Consulting Forester, working in NE Tennessee and SW Virginia for 20 years.
As a member of West Colonial Hills Baptist Church, Kingsport, TN for 43 years, Allen served as an assistant Sunday School teacher with the youth, an usher and a greeter. He was also very active in his son’s baseball years, coaching him and many other boys and girls in the Colonial Heights AABC Rebels Baseball program and the Kingsport Parks and Recreation. He often runs into those boys, who are now young men, and they still call him “Coach”. Allen was a member of the Optimist Club of Colonial Heights, serving as president and was on several committees within the club, but was best known as “Clyde” in the concession stand. He served on the board of the Sullivan South Area Community Chest in their early, formative years. Allen was supportive of his daughter during her cheerleading and competitive dance years and was at any event his children were involved in until it was time to be there for his grandchildren’s events. His hobbies were visiting with family and friends, hunting and fishing, vacationing in Florida with his sister-in-law and brother-in-law and of course his favorite, watching Virginia Tech football. Win or lose, he always supported his team, as he said, “Win or Lose, once a Hokie, always a Hokie”. Allen never met a stranger and was a friend to many.
Allen was preceded in death by his father, Charles G. Campbell; his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Frank and Ida Mae Hicks; his step-mother-in-law, Dorothy Hicks; his paternal and maternal grandparents and a number of aunts and uncles.
Survivors include his wife, Linda Campbell; son, Edward and wife Brenda Campbell, along with their daughters, Trinity and husband Jared Calton and Cassidy Campbell and boyfriend Dillon Harkleroad; daughter April Winegar, along with her sons Bailey Berry and girlfriend, Hannah Hess, J.D. Winegar and Wade Winegar; daughter, Greer Campbell and son; mother, Marie Campbell of Glade Springs, VA; sister Kay and husband Mike Pippin of Bristol, VA; sister-in-law, Jean Smith of Butner, NC; sister-in-law and very special brother-in-law, Lou and Jerry Clemmer of Creedmoor, NC; special cousin, Wayne and wife Becky Campbell of Abingdon, VA; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and uncles.
The family will receive friends on Saturday, June 20, 2020 from 5:00 to 7:00pm at East Lawn Funeral Home. A celebration of life for Allen will be at 7:00pm with Pastor Tony Ellis of West Colonial Hills Baptist Church and Pastor Jeff Strong of Sullivan Baptist Church officiating, remembrance by his grandson, J.D. Winegar and special friend and Sunday School teacher, Jerry Taylor, special music by Andy Coffman, Minister of Music of Sullivan Baptist Church.
Graveside services will be on Sunday, June 21, 2020 at 2:00pm at East Lawn Memorial Park.
Pallbearers will be his grandsons and cousin: Bailey Berry, J.D. Winegar, Wade Winegar, Jared Calton, Dillon Harkleroad, and Wayne Campbell. Honorary pallbearers will be his Second Monday Breakfast Club: Bill Burris, Bernie Smith, Doug Hendrickson and Mark Bland.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to West Colonial Hills Baptist Church, 1205 Kendrick Creek Road, Kingsport, TN 37663 or Optimist Club of Colonial Heights, P.O. Box 5801, Kingsport, TN 37663.
