Marion McKinley Chiles

Marion McKinley Chiles was born on May 11, 1930 in rural Winston Co, MS and passed into eternal glory on April 6, 2025. He was preceded in death by his wife of 67 years, Jean Love Chiles, his father and mother, James William and Virdie Lee Chiles, his brother James W. Chiles Jr, and sisters, Jessie Lee Cooper, Rubye Yarbrough, and Lucille Hudgins. He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Kendall and Starr Bennett Chiles, grandson Parker Chiles and his wife Amber, granddaughter Lauren Chiles, and many nieces and nephews. Marion graduated from Noxapater High School in 1948 and was elected senior class president. He graduated East Central Junior College in 1950 and Mississippi State University in 1953 with a BS in Physics. After college he served in the U.S. Army as a radar technician. He then worked for RCA in Lancaster, PA. until coming to Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1957. That same year he met his wife Jean and they were married in 1958. He worked as a nuclear physicist and became a specialist in radiation detection. During his career he was awarded four patents for detector designs and did work for various D.O.E. locations, D.O.D., and NASA. Marion was previously a member and elder at Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church and West Hills Presbyterian Church, and was a current member at Christ Covenant Presbyterian Church. Since the mid-1960s he had been active in the civic organization Ruritan National. He served in every capacity of the organization culminating as national president in 1990, and was a current member of the Highland Park Ruritan Club in Lenoir City. He was a man of sincere faith in Jesus Christ. He was a true patriot that loved this country and the freedoms that the constitution provides. He was a man of character, integrity, principle, and conviction. He was known for his signature flat-top haircut and was old school to the max. There will be a receiving of friends Friday, April 11, at 5:00pm with a memorial service at 7:00pm at Christ Covenant Presbyterian Church, 12915 Kingston Pike, Farragut, TN. Interment will be at Pleasant Forest Cemetery on Concord Road on Saturday, April 12, at 2:00pm with an Honor Guard and public is welcome.

Tributes

Marion McKinley Chiles

May 11, 1930 - April 6, 2025