John Bacon
John Yost Bacon, 87, of Hixson, Tennessee, retired United Methodist minister and U.S. Army chaplain, died on Wednesday, September 30, 2015.
He was a member of Holston United Methodist Annual Conference, where he compiled 43 years of pastoral ministry, including six years as superintendent of the Abingdon, Va. district. Following retirement from the conference in 1996, he served as assistant pastor of Hixson United Methodist Church in Chattanooga. During his 43 years of ministerial tenure, he held appointments in the Johnson City, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Morristown, Abingdon, and Cleveland Districts. In 2003, he was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) at which time he retired completely from church duties.
John Bacon was born Jan. 7, 1928, in Pikeville, Ky. When he was a child, his family moved to Tennessee, and historic Jonesborough became his hometown. He graduated from Jonesborough High School in 1946, where he was president of his senior class.
Dr. Bacon was the son of the late Lonnie and Herma Maynard Bacon of Jonesborough. He was also preceded in death by his only sibling, Elizabeth Jane (Betty) Bacon Lopez of Waynesville, North Carolina.
John earned degrees at Tennessee Wesleyan College in Athens, East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, and Emory University in Atlanta. He also graduated from the Army Chaplain School at Fort Hamilton, New York. While he was a student in Theology at Emory University, he also served a part-time appointment of three small rural churches in the Cleveland District of Holston Conference. It was while he was spending weekends in Cleveland that he met the young lady who would become his wife. John had taken a group of young people from his churches to attend a youth rally at Broad Street United Methodist Church. The person who was directing the recreation that evening was Billie Deane Reed, Assistant Home Demonstration Agent of Bradley County. John and Billie began a courtship, which culminated in their marriage at First United Methodist Church of Cleveland on December 30, 1956.
Born to their union were two sons and two daughters: Gerald Wesley, John Michael, Melinda Suzanne, and Angela Lea Bacon. John and Billie had agreed on a family of four children. They wanted every child to have a brother and a sister.
Before consenting to the call of the Christian ministry, John tried a stint at minor league baseball. Just out of high school he played for two seasons with a Class D (now called the Rookie League) farm team of the then New York Giants. The team was located in Kentucky, and was a member of the Mountain States League.
While in his junior and senior years in college, he spent two summers singing with the Fred Waring Pennsylvanians, touring out of Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania. A number of college students, called the ‘’ Summer Singers,” were chosen to substitute for the professional singers who were on summer vacation. John was a tenor in the college choir, which gave him the opportunity to audition for the Pennsylvanians while they were appearing in concert on the campus.
Following graduation from seminary, John received a commission in the Chaplain Branch of the United States Army. He was assigned to the 30th Armored Division of the Army National Guard of Tennessee. At the time of his retirement, after 20 years of military service, he was serving as Regimental Chaplain of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, headquartered in Knoxville. During his time in the military he received the Army Commendation Medal and the Distinguished Service Ribbon, primarily for conducting military funerals and burials of returning casualties of the Viet Nam War in the 1960s and 1970s.
John served Holston Conference as chairman of the Equitable Salaries Commission, which Dealt with the minimum salaries of ministers with varying levels of education and experience. He also served on the board of Governors of Emory and Henry College in Emory, Virginia; the Board of Trustees of Tennessee Wesleyan College in Athens, TN; and the Board of Trustees of Holston Home for Children in Greenville, Tn. He was also chairman of the Committee on Community Relations at Laughlin Memorial Hospital in Greenville.
Surviving Dr. Bacon are his wife of almost 59 years, Billie Reed Bacon; son Gerald Wesley Bacon of Murfreesboro, TN; daughter Suzanne Bacon Davis and husband Paul Davis of Resaca, GA; Angela Bacon Gross and husband Todd Gross of Hixson, TN; and son John Michael Bacon and wife Thong of Murfreesboro, Tn. and two grandchildren Chloe Bacon and Jared Gross.
Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4, at Hixson United Methodist Church. Eulogies will be given by Bishop Richard Looney, retired United Methodist Bishop, The Reverend Reed Shell, and Mr. Sammy Gooden. The interment will be at Chattanooga National Cemetery on Monday, Oct. 5, at 2:30 p.m. The family will receive friends on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 4-6 p.m. at Chattanooga Funeral Home-North Chapel.
Pallbearers will be members and friends of the Upper Room Sunday School Class of Hixson United Methodist Church. Honorary pallbearers will be ministers of Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church
In lieu of flowers, memorial offerings may be given to the Organ Fund of Hixson United Methodist Church, 5301 Old Hixson Pike, Hixson, Tn. 37343.
Arrangements are by the North Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory and Florist, 5401 Highway 153, Hixson.
Please share your thoughts and memories at www.chattanooganorthchapel.com.