Robert Bob Taylor Witherspoon Jr.

Robert Taylor “Bob” Witherspoon, Jr., 92, passed away at Riverside Senior Living in Decatur, Friday, November 27, 2015, after a long illness. He was born on June 27, 1923 and raised on a family farm near Columbia, Tenn.

A graveside service at Roselawn Cemetery will be held Monday, Nov. 30, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. with the Rev. Evan D. Garner officiating. There will be no visitation. Roselawn Funeral Home is assisting the family.

Mr. Witherspoon was a member of the Tennessee National Guard at the start of World War II. His unit was activated in January, 1943 and became part of the Division of the U.S. Army known as “The Avengers of Bataan,” under the direction of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. He served in the Pacific War campaigns in New Guinea, the Southern Philippines, Leyte and Luzon.

Following discharge in 1945, he attended Sewanee, The University of the South, studying engineering. He had a surveying business in Nashville during the post-War building boom. He later joined Chemstrand in 1951 as an engineer in Decatur, Ala. After Chemstrand was bought by Monsanto in 1960, he worked on the team that developed and managed the laying of Astroturf in the Astrodome in Houston, Tex., and other sports stadiums around the country. He also taught drafting and Math for many years at Calhoun Community College, and was a member of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Decatur.

In 1970, Mr. Witherspoon joined Cities Service Company., as an engineer supervising the building of a plant at Copperhill, Tenn. He served as Sr. Warden of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church there.

He next joined Daniel Construction Company , later known as Flour Daniel, where he supervised industrial maintenance operations in plants in Spartanburg, S.C., Little Rock, Ark. and Baton Rouge, La., until his retirement in 1983.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 47 years, Bette Jo Dickinson, also of Columbia, Tenn. He is survived by three daughters: Leah McDaniel (Tom) of Tucson, Ariz.; Myra Whitmire (James) of Decatur, Ala.; Elizabeth Witherspoon (Curtis Massey) of Durham, N.C.; and son Robert Taylor Witherspoon, III (Cheryl) of Spartanburg, S.C. He also had six grandchildren: Elizabeth Anderson (Jeremy), Robert “Robbie” Taylor Witherspoon, IV (Cindy), Erin McDaniel, Amanda Whitmire, Katherine Massey and Christopher Massey; and three great-grandchildren: Lauren Gilliland, Thomas Anderson and Zachary Witherspoon.

The family wishes to thank the staff and his friends at Riverside Senior Living in Decatur and Hospice of the Valley for their professional care and many personal kindnesses, and the Eucharistic Visitors of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Decatur, for their faithful journey alongside him and us.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to Riverside Senior Living, Hospice of the Valley, or St. John’s Episcopal Church.