Dr. Fred Richard Mynatt

Dr. Fred Richard Mynatt, age 83, was reunited on December 20, 2023 with his beloved parents Ettra Leona and Elmer Everett “EE” Mynatt; siblings Dr. Connie (Bill) Axamethy, Elmer Eugene (Alma) Mynatt, Vivian Victoria “VV” (Bill) Coward and Harold Abner Mynatt; precious son Douglas Richard Mynatt and grandson Duncan MacIntyre. Richard continues to watch over and waits to be reunited with his wife Judith. He assured her of his faithful love and devotion every day. Richard was a proud father to Dr. Elizabeth Mynatt (Dr. Blair MacIntyre) and his late wife Elaine Simpson Mynatt’s children Suzanne Baugh (Colleen Wogan) and Rich Baugh. He enjoyed seeing his grandchildren mature and make achievements: Grace MacIntyre, Buzz MacIntyre and Parker Baugh. Richard loved Parker’s mother Jacqueline as a daughter and valued his friendship with Douglas’ and Beth’s mother Carolyn Clifford. Richard had many lifelong friends from Central High School Class of 1958 and a “Bridge dinner” group that began regular meetings more than 55 years ago. Judith gives thanks for the extraordinary support and guidance given by their friends Dr. Jo and Doris Sweet during Richard’s illness. We are grateful for the many good times Richard shared with his friend Bobby Walker and his “little black dog” Precious and our kitties Henrietta and Sally-Marie. Judith is grateful for those who helped make it possible for her to care for Richard at home: the exemplary care and support of everyone at UT Hospice especially Patrick Moore, RN; Jodena Cody, CNA; Chaplain Dexter Jordan; Deborah Caulder, LMSW; Rural Metro Station 17, their kind Whittington Creek neighbors and Don and Marilyn Anderson. Richard was a faithful believer of Jesus Christ and was an active member for more than fifty years at Central Baptist Bearden where he served as a deacon for 14 consecutive years demonstrating Christ’s love and care to countless senior members and offering support to bereaved families. Richard valued learning from senior ministers, Dr Bill Bruster, Dr Larry Fields, and Dr Wade Bibb. Richard enjoyed serving Christ with the Mission of Hope, Inasmuch, Ft. Sanders Fellowship Center and in South Dakota with Community Missions and Pastoral Care Pastor Mark Moreland. Richard was an avid reader, especially of Christian and history texts, and loved classical music. Richard earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee department of Nuclear Engineering where he was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2022 for his contributions to Nuclear Engineering and his long-standing career at the Lockheed Martin Energy Systems in Oak Ridge. Richard’s career spanned 35 years and in 1990 he became the first Senior Vice President for compliance, evaluations, and policy. During his career he oversaw restarting the complex’s reactors in the 1980s and led the Oak Ridge support operations during the Three Mile Island crisis. He was elected a fellow of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) in 1978, is a past chairman of the society’s Radiation Protection and Shielding Division, and a 1979 recipient of its technical achievement award. UT also honored him as an outstanding engineering alumnus in 1980. In 1981, Richard was awarded the prestigious Ernest Orlando Lawrence Memorial Award for the development of internationally recognized discrete-ordinate methods and generalized perturbation theory for radiation-shielding analysis, and for leadership in the broad application of these methods to create safe and efficient shield design for reactor plants. Richard’s family invites you to join them on Thursday, December 28 between 1 and 3:30pm to share memories of him. At 3:30, Dr. Wade Bibb, Rev. Mark Moreland and Pam Robertson will lead us in a time of celebration. We will gather at The Whittington Creek Clubhouse located at 1800 Whittington Creek Blvd, Knoxville. Please no flowers – honor Richard with gifts to Central Baptist Bearden’s general budget, community missions, The Samaritan Ministry, or the Music Ministry. Cat food donations will be given to the Loudon County Friends of Animals.

Tributes

Dr. Fred Richard Mynatt

July 2, 1940 - December 20, 2023