James “Kaiser” Reece

Mr. James “Kaiser” Reece of Kempville died at 4:37 p.m. Saturday afternoon, March 15, 2008 at Cookeville Regional Medical Center where he was admitted March 8 to be treated for cancer.

Tuesday afternoon funeral services were conducted from the Hackett Chapel of Sanderson Funeral Home and burial followed in the Defeated Creek Memorial Gardens. Eld. Charles Patterson and Eld. Danny Raines officiated at the 3 p.m. services.

One of eight children of the late Jim C. and Grace Franklin Reece, he was born James Duffie Reece in the Brooks Bend Community of Jackson County on April 18, 1926 and was the last of the eight children to die.

The seven siblings which preceded him in death were Jessie Willlard “Buck” Reece, John Henry “Shoate” Reece, Allen Junior “Tug” Reece, Virginia Lucille Reece, Lela Bella Reece, Alta Aline Hewitt and Dorothy Marie Woodard.

Mr. Reece was united in marriage to the former Reba Joyce Witcher of Ringgold, Ga. on December 21, 1951. Mr. Reece and avid coon hunter and lover of the land, had lived and farmed the same farm in the Billy Hollow at Dean Hill for the past fifty-one years.

He was an employee of the Martin K. Eby Construction Co., which constructed the Cordell Hull Dam and Powerhouse beginning in 1963.

Surviving in addition to his wife of over fifty-six years are two children, Charles Reece and wife Sherri of the Dean Hill Community, Teresa Kemp and husband Jeff of the Difficult Community; six grandchildren, Amy Lee, Dustin Kemp, and Kayla Kemp all of Difficult; Amanda Greer and Calli Greer both of Dean Hill; three great-grandchildren, Page and Ethan Claridy of Hartsville, Shaun Carver of Defeated Creek.