John Douglas Cauthen

Born: November 3, 1936   Died: October 14, 2014

CAUTHEN, JOHN DOUGLAS - age 77, passed away at Parkwest Hospital Tuesday evening, October 14, 2014. John was born November 3, 1936, to the union of Walter James Cauthen, Sr. and Mary Alice Vonadore Cauthen, the third of their four children. In addition to his parents he is predeceased by his brother, Walter James Cauthen, Jr. John is survived by his wife of almost fifty eight years, Phyllis Whitesides Cauthen; his son, Mark Douglas Cauthen; his daughter, Jennifer Olson (Todd); his granddaughters, Kayleigh Olson and Amanda Olson, all of Knoxville. He is also survived by his sister, Peggy Allen of Las Vegas, NV; his brother, Mickey Cauthen (Maggie) of Cumming, GA; and several nieces and nephews. John's father died in 1944 and his mother followed in 1945. In 1946 John and his younger brother, Mickey went to live at Epworth Children's Home in Columbia, SC. The home had an extensive farm and dairy, and the students worked there. John became so proficient at milking the cows that he was assigned the meanest cow on the farm. Of course there was school in the Columbia public system, and John became a very good baseball player. At age sixteen he and Mickey left the Children's Home to live with their sister in Fort Mill, SC. John attended Fort Mill High School until the middle of his senior year when he joined the U.S. Air Force and acquired his GED. During his last year in the Air Force he began dating Phyllis who had been a classmate at FMHS. They were married in February 1957. John was discharged in September 1957 and they moved to Atlanta because John planned to enter GA Tech. Their first child, Mark, was born in 1959, plans changed, and John and Phyllis moved back to SC where he attended USC. He graduated in 1964 with a B.S. in management. John joined IBM in 1965, starting in Durham, NC, and their second child, Jennifer, was born in 1966. From Durham the family moved to Boca Raton, FL, Montgomery, AL, Rochester, MN, Columbia, SC, Atlanta, GA, and Fort Myers FL where John retired. They moved to Knoxville, TN, to be near Jennifer and Todd and the grandchildren. John and Phyllis were among the first to move into Plantation Springs, a new development. Both were active in the social functions and the development of the governing documents. During his time in Knoxville John enjoyed golf, reading and especially spending time with his granddaughters. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St, Judes Children's Research Hospital, www.stjude.org, Holston Conference United Methodist Home for Children, www.holstonhome.org or to the Salvation Army, Knoxville. A celebration of his life service will be held Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at the Click Funeral Home Farragut Chapel, 11915 Kingston Pike. The family will receive friends following the service at Milestones Event Center.