Oct. 23, 2005

Virginia Eagar

Virginia Ruth Genter Eagar, 85, a lifelong resident of the Chattanooga area and a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, died Wednesday, Oct. 5, at her home, surrounded by her family.

Mrs. Eagar was the daughter of the late Robert H. and Belle Shirey Genter. She was also preceded in death by her husband of 44 years, Charles H. Eagar, and two sisters.

She graduated from Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga, attended the University of Tennessee, and was a homemaker and part-time bookkeeper. Mrs. Eagar also was an active member of the Ladies of Charity.

Survivors include five children, Chris Eagar of Rye, N.H.; Nancy Dickey of Fayetteville; Martha Foster of Chattanooga; and Daniel and Andy Eagar, both of Nashville; and nine grandchildren.

The funeral was held Friday, Oct. 7, at OLPH Church with Father Mike Nolan officiating. Interment followed in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Chattanooga.

Donations may be made to the Humane Society of the United States or to the American Cancer Society.

Roma Guth

Roma Claire Guth, 83, a 48-year member of St. Mary Parish in Oak Ridge, died at her home in Oak Ridge on Monday, Sept. 26.

Mrs. Guth was born Aug. 9, 1922, in Pincher Creek, Alberta, Canada. She was married to the late Dr. Eugene Guth, a physicist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and professor of physics, whom she met in 1946 while teaching school in Canada.

From 1947 to 1957, she lived in South Bend, Ind., while her husband was a research professor of physics at the University of Notre Dame. In 1957 the family moved to Oak Ridge, when Dr. Guth accepted a position as technical adviser to the director of ORNL.

Mrs. Guth put her faith into practice. For more than 10 years she used to leave each week a two-gallon thermos filled with ice water and four clean cups so that the garbage men could have a drink.

She had good carpentry skills and built shelves for the recreation room and bathrooms and her husband’s study in the family home. She prefabricated storm windows for the house that are still used today. After her husband retired, she built two houses—as a general contractor—on Wexgate Road in the Karns area of Knox County.

Many of her friends from St. Mary Parish went with her on one-day pilgrimages that she organized to Conyers, Ga., for the reported apparitions of Mary.

Mrs. Guth lived with Alzheimer’s disease for more than eight years but never lost the ability to carry on ordinary conversations. She continued to eat at restaurants in Oak Ridge two or three times per week, including the night before her death.

Survivors include her son Terry Guth and wife Pat of Houston; daughter Laura Guth Kubisiak and husband Mike of Portland, Ore.; son and longtime caregiver Michael Guth; and five grandchildren.

The funeral Mass was held Saturday, Oct. 1, at St. Mary Church, followed by interment in Oak Ridge Memorial Park.

Thomas A. O’Connor

Thomas Anthony O’Connor, 92, of Powell died Monday, Sept. 26, at Shannondale Health Care Center in Knoxville.

Mr. O’Connor was a member of Knoxville’s Holy Ghost Parish and Knights of Columbus Council 645. He was a retired industrial-sales representative, having worked for C.M. McClung, Wallace Hardware, and Browning Belting Co.

Survivors include his sons, John Thomas O’Connor II and wife Betsy, David Anthony O’Connor, and Daniel Robert O’Connor and wife Rena, all of Knoxville; daughters, Patricia Ann Greer of Knoxville and Esther Mary Shogren and husband Paul of Flat Rock, N.C.; 17 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and sister, Mary Katherine O’Connor, of Knoxville.

The funeral Mass was celebrated Wednesday, Sept. 28, at Holy Ghost Church by Father Xavier Mankel. Interment followed in Calvary Cemetery, Knoxville.