Robert Louis McLean Wesley

Wesley, Robert (Bob) Louis McLean (84) passed from this life on Sunday, November 15. He was a very loving husband, father, and grandfather. He was preceded in death by his mother, Mary Mildred Bozeman McLean Wesley, and adopted father, John Borden Wesley. He leaves his wife, Doris Rogers Wesley, and his children, Stephen Wesley (spouse Kittie) of Murfreesboro, TN; Michael Wesley (spouse Gina) of Knoxville; and Rev. Dr. Cindy Wesley (spouse Rev. Dr. T.J.) of Cambridge, England; grandchildren Brittainy Wesley, Rob Wesley, Kellie Wesley Cash (spouse Conlon), Haden Wesley, Lillie Wesley, and Cassian Wesley. Bob was a Knoxville native and a 1954 graduate of the University of Tennessee, where he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and sports editor of the campus newspaper. He served two years as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, stationed at White Sands Proving Ground, NM, and Fort Benning, GA. Following military service he began his career in journalism as a reporter for WBIR-TV a few months after the opening of the station. He served as news director from 1957-1960, producing the nightly news and anchored a morning news program in 1960. For several years he was public address announcer at the UT basketball games and worked in the press box at UT football games. In 1961 he joined the Public Relations Department of Union Carbide Corporation’s nuclear operations in Oak Ridge. During his early career he led tours for public and distinguished visitors to the installations. He directed and produced a number of motion pictures and videotapes documenting work for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, and later the U.S. Department of Energy. Most notable of these were scenes of the preparation of the boxes carried on the NASA moon-landing missions, manufactured at the Y-12 plant, and film describing the missions of the nuclear plants in Oak Ridge, TN, Paducah, KY, and Portsmouth, OH. Bob became Public Relations Manager of the Y-12 Plant in 1986 and frequently served as spokesman for both the plant and the operating contractor at that time, Martin Marietta Energy Systems. He retired at the end of 1992. He was certified as an Accredited Public Relations professional with the Public Relations Society of America and served as president of the PRSA in 1978. He received the chapter’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. For several years he served as publicity manager for the Coalition of Oak Ridge Retired Employees, an organization aimed at protecting benefits for retired workers from the Oak Ridge nuclear installations. He was a long-time member of the Concord United Methodist Church, where he had served in a number of leadership positions, including chairman of the Church Board and chairman of a Long-Range Planning Committee, and occasionally as a Sunday school teacher. He was a member of the church choir and an occasional soloist, best remembered for his rendition of “O, Holy Night” during the annual Christmas services. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Concord United Methodist Church building Fund, 11020 Roane Dr., Knoxville, TN 37934 or to the Holston Home for Children, 404 Holston Dr., Greenville, TN 37743. The family will receive friends on Sunday, November 22, 2015, from 2:00 – 3:45 pm at Concord United Methodist Church. A memorial service will follow at 4:00 pm with the Rev. Larry Trotter and Rev. Gordon Ridenour officiating. Arrangements by Rose Mortuary Mann Heritage Chapel. www.rosemortuary.com

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Robert Louis McLean Wesley

January 30, 1931 - November 15, 2015