Carter County TN Archives Obituaries.....Mottern, Wlliam E. "Sonny" October 2, 2007 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/tn/tnfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Julia Williams Kodak jkodak@charter.net October 10, 2007, 11:32 am Elizabethton Star Oct 4, 2007 William E. "Sonny" Mottern William E. "Sonny" Mottern, 87, 168 Cripple Creek Loop, Watauga, died Tuesday, October 2, 2007. A native and lifelong resident of Carter County, Tenn., he was the son of the late William J. and Carrie E. Mottern. "Sonny" Mottern was elected and installed as National Commander of the American Ex-Prisoners of War on September 21, 1996, at the 49th National Convention in Birmingham, Ala. In 1997-1998 he served as the National Senior Director of the Board and was appointed President of the American Ex-Prisoners of War Service Foundation and filed an 501 (C) (3) Application with the Internal Revenue Service which was approved November 24, 1998 for donors deductibility of federal income taxes to the American Ex-Prisoners of War Organization. He was born June 24, 1920 and married his high school sweetheart, Eulah "Sweetie" Shepherd on October 17, 1941. From December 1943 thru December 1945, "Sonny" served on active duty with the 15th Infantry-3rd Division in France where he received a battle field promotion to S/Sgt. He was captured December 19, 1944, near the Rhine River in France and was held in four German prisoner camps, being moved by box car and forced marches. He was liberated on April 29, 1945 by General George Patton. "Sonny" was discharged December 7, 1945 and awarded the Bronze Star, One Bronze Star Cluster, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, American European- African Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Combat Infantry's Badge, Honorable Service Medal and the POW Medal. He was called again to serve his country as Chairman of the Carter County Draft Board during the Vietnam Conflict. On April 19, 1996 he was named by the Governor of Tennessee as a Colonel, Aid-De-Camp for Valor and Dedication in the Performance of his duties in service to the Ex-POWs and all Veterans of the state of Tennessee. He also served on the Military and Veterans Advisory Board for Tennessee. On April 19, 1997 he was appointed by the Governor of Tennessee as Tennessee Ambassador of Goodwill. He was a National Service Organization Representative for the Department of Veteran Affairs and was currently serving as Treasurer of the Military Ex-Prisoners of War Foundation. Mr. Mottern's community involvement and leadership included: Elder in the Brick Christian Church; member of the Chamber of Commerce; past Master of the Masonic Lodge, and Life Member of the VFW, DAV, Purple Heart, the American Legion and the American Ex-Prisoners of War. He was a previous owner of the Dixie Battery Company in Elizabethton and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Watauga Volunteer Fire Department. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by two brothers, George and Robert Mottern. Survivors include his wife, Eulah B. "Sweetie" Mottern, of the home; a son, Sonnie Bill Mottern and wife Shelby, Bluff City; a daughter, Ruth Lewis, Watauga; a brother, Howard Mottern, Watauga; a sister, Cleo Watkins, Johnson City; four grandchildren, Michelle Kessler and husband Tom of Florida, Eddie Lewis, Watauga, Brad Mottern and wife Tonya, Johnson City, and Carrie Mottern, Bluff City; and four great-grandchildren, Taylor Mottern and Blaise, Lukas and Piper Kessler. Several nieces and nephews and two special friends, Dr. Eugene Galloway and Dr. Harrison Turner, also survive. The funeral service for Mr. Mottern will be conducted at 7 p.m. Thursday, October 4, in the Sunset Chapel of Hathaway-Percy Funeral Home with Dr. Don Marshall and Mr. Wayne Mottern, ministers, officiating. Music will be under the direction of Scott Reynolds. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, prior to the funeral service, or at the residence at other times. The graveside service and interment will be conducted at 11 a.m. Friday, October 5, at Mountain Home National Cemetery. Active pallbearers will be his nephews, Joe David Mottern, Tim Mottern, Stanley Mottern, Kegley Mottern, Tony Mottern, Henry Watkins, John Watkins, Brad Haws, Darrell Haws Jr. and Buddy Thompson. Honorary pallbearers will be American Ex-Prisoners of War-East Tennessee Chapter, the men of Brick Christian Church, members of the Rolling Thunder and members of the Watauga Volunteer Fire Department. Military Honors will be accorded by the Captain Lynn H. Folsom VFW Post No. 2166. Everyone will meet at the funeral home at 10 a.m. Friday to go in procession to the cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the "Sonny and Sweetie" Scholarship Foundation, Emmanuel School of Religion, 1 Walker Drive, Johnson City, TN 37601. Online condolences may be sent to the family by signing the guestbook at www.hathawaypercy.com. Arrangements for the Mottern family have been entrusted to Hathaway-Percy Funeral Home. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/carter/obits/m/mottern616gob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/tnfiles/ File size: 5.5 Kb