Dr. Eugene J. Sanders, 75, of Winchester died Thursday, Aug. 11 at Southern Tennessee Medical Center.
The son of the late Homer and Virginia Sanders, he was born in Old Hickory and grew up in McMinnville. Dr. Sanders was a mechanical engineer who received his PhD in engineering from Vanderbilt University in 1993 and was selected as an AEDC Fellow in 1998. During his 40-year career, he made many technical contributions to the aerospace community. He served several years as AEDC’s representative to the NATO/AGARD Fluid Dynamics Panel and was honored in 1996 and 1997 to serve as chairman of the Tennessee Chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He retired from Arnold Engineering Development center in 1998. During his retirement, he continued his lifelong pursuit of protecting our environment by serving on the board of directors of Scenic Tennessee from 1988-2006, and serving as its president from 1999-2003. He served his community as a member of the Winchester Public Utilities Board of Directors, president of Franklin County Country Club, the Board of the Directors of Tim’s Ford Council and was a member of Highland Hills Church of Christ.
He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Anna Myers Sanders of Winchester; son, John Sanders and his wife Ming of Knoxville; daughters, Lisa Hayes and her husband Bob of Tullahoma, and Laurie Guthrie and her husband Reuben of Kennesaw, Ga.; brother, Patrick Sanders and his wife Patricia of Los Angeles, Calif.; sister, Sandra Hamilton and her husband Bill of Nashville; nine grandchildren, Colin Sanders and his wife Gillian, Valerie Sanders and her husband Mischa Goldman, Deanna and Micah Sanders, Hannah, Alex and Ethan Guthrie, and Dean and Carson Hayes; and several nieces and nephews.
Funeral service was held yesterday at Kilgore Funeral Home Chapel with Bro. Shane Hines, Earl Price, and Charles “Shot” Nunley officiating. Burial followed at Mt. View Cemetery in McMinnville. The family suggests donations be made to the National Parkinson Foundation, at National Parkinson Foundation Gift Processing Center, P.O. Box 5018, Hagerstown, MD, 21741-5018, or by calling 1-800-327-4545.
Kilgore Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Southern Standard
(McMinnville, Tenn.) Aug. 14, 2011