In Memory Of John Audley Masters
4th April 1917
– 24th May 2012
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"Click 'Attachments' to access his illustrated autobiography, 'The Life of John Audley Masters'"
This memorial website was created in the memory of
John Audley Masters, born
in Overton County, Tenn.
on the 4th April 1917
and passed away on the 24th May 2012, 95 years of age.
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| Full Name: John Audley Masters |
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Born: 4th April 1917
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| Age: 95 years of age |
| Location: Lenoir City, Tennessee |
| Country: The United States |
| Spouse: Donna Priddy Masters |
| Father: John Riley Masters |
| Mother: Clora Alice Masters |
| Birth Place: Overton County, Tenn. |
| Children: John R. Masters, Gary Masters |
| Siblings: Roy Tilson Masters, Atwell Chatt Masters, Exie Edrie Masters Belk, Robert L. Masters, Harrell Masters, Carson Wright |
| Occupation: Refrigeration mechanic |
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Created by Steve on
2 Jun 2012
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John Audley Masters, a longtime Lenoir City, Tenn., resident whose gregarious manner, business and property deals, and post-retirement hobby of painting won him hundreds of friends throughout East Tennessee, died Thursday, May 24, 2012. He was 95.
Funeral services were held Saturday, May 26, 2012, at Click Funeral Home in Lenoir City. Burial was Sunday, May 27, 2012, at Lakeview Cemetery in Lenoir City.
John was born April 4, 1917, in Overton County, Tenn., the fifth of six surviving children of John Riley and Clora Alice Masters. He enjoyed farm life growing up, but after graduation from Cumberland Mountain School in 1937, he took to the road and ended up traveling throughout the U.S. for three years as part of the team of young salesmen and women for the Pathfinder news magazine. It was during this time that he met Donna Jean Priddy, whom he married in May 1941 in Detroit. Their sons John Roger Masters and Gary Robert Masters arrived in 1942 and 1946.
John's interest in the fledgling field of refrigeration began in Detroit, and that interest grew into business opportunities when they moved to Tennessee, with stops in Crossville, Rockwood and Chattanooga before landing in Lenoir City. In 1951, John was hired at the X-10 plant at Oak Ridge National Lab as a test engineer working in refrigeration/cooling. He retired from ORNL in 1979.
Property was a hobby for John, and he took pleasure in the deals he worked and in the land itself -- particularly a spot known as "the Ponderosa" that he co-owned with Riley Wampler and Ross Wilkerson in the 1970s and '80s -- as well as in the broader growth of Lenoir City over the past 60 years. John took up painting in 1975, and the hobby took off for him after retirement, as his homey collection of landscapes and livestock that offered a lasting view of East Tennessee won awards and popularity among buyers. He also discovered golf in retirement, and played for years until his vision began to fail him.
Donna died Sept. 23, 2003, and John continued to live at River Oaks assisted-living center in Lenoir City, where he met Shirley Kitzke, his companion for several years before she died in February 2009. John also was preceded in death by his sister, Exie Edrie Masters Belk; four of his five brothers, including younger brother Harrell Masters; and his half brother Carson Wright.
Survivors include a brother, Robert L. "Tony" Masters of Miamisburg, Ohio; his sons, John R. Masters of The Woodlands, Texas, and Gary and Jeanine Masters of Houston; his grandsons, Steve Masters of Austin, Texas, and Paul Masters of Round Rock, Texas; and his great-grandsons, Truman and Tucker Masters of Round Rock.
Click "Attachments" to access a .pdf file of his illustrated autobiography, "The Life of John Audley Masters"
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