Always known as "Tyke," Foster Charles Emch, 80 years old, passed on from this life to the next at 4:40 pm on December 23, 2022, with his loving wife of 33 years, Tammy Holt Emch, at his side. He was a WV man who found true love in a TN girl; a diehard fan of the WV Mountaineers, the Tennessee Volunteers, and the Atlanta Braves; a snazzy dresser with crazy t-shirts and hats galore; a big man with an even bigger heart.Tyke was a 1960 graduate of Magnolia High School in New Martinsville, WV, where he was active in FFA and Football, and studied business at Kent State University in Akron, OH.  He served as Secretary of Local Chapter of the United Steelworkers of America Union in Youngstown, OH, and later was a member of Laborers' Union Local 438 in Atlanta, GA, where he retired from work as a Chemical Process Operator for Crown Cork & Seal in 1994.Tyke was a Christian who attended the Evangelistic Center of Clinton and was best known locally as a highly decorated volunteer at Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge, longtime Manager and DJ of Tambo's Karaoke, and co-owner of Tykester's Antiques, Jams, and Jellies in Clinton.  He always had fun, and he made sure everyone around him did too.Tyke was preceded in death by his father, Foster C Emch, his mother, Thelma Meadus Swann Emch, and his daughter Karen Emch Luoma.  He is survived by that Tennessee girl, Tammy, and her three special sisters, all of whom babied him to no end; three brothers-in-law one whom was his buddy; his little brother "Muggs" and family; a daughter, Leshia Ann Emch, who idolized him, and her family; two sons, Foster Charles Emch, II, of Warren, OH, and Robert Lee Emch of Culpeper, VA and their families; two nephews and their families in Charleston, WV; several nieces and nephews in Clinton and Nashville; three granddaughters and four great grandchildren; two special great nieces and a special great nephew; and a great many bowling and music friends.Tyke loved fried catfish, eggs, chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy, and noodles, and black raspberry cobbler.  He never met a stranger, never made an enemy, and never missed a chance to make a joke.  He was fun-loving and funny, and everyone loved him.

We will greatly miss him as he, like his favorite cowboy hero Roy Rogers, rides off into the sunset.The family will receive friends at Holley-Gamble Funeral Home on Wednesday, December 28, 2022, from 2-3PM with the funeral service to follow in the Chapel with pastor Judy Delatte officiating. Interment will be held at Overton Cemetery following the funeral service. www.holleygamble.com