Mr. Wallace "Wally" Perry Broadwell, Jr. passed away at a nursing facility in Clinton, TN on Christmas day 2020. Born January 9, 1924, Wally had been living until early December at Meadow View Senior Living in Clinton. Marie Modlin Broadwell, his beloved wife of 68 years, predeceased him in 2017. His daughter, Alicia Kay Broadwell Porter (Clinton, TN) has been faithfully supporting him during his medical problems over the past year, despite the challenges presented by the COVID19 pandemic. He is also survived by his son, David Kimball Broadwell (Chapel Hill, NC), four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Kay and her husband, Wallace Porter, have been blessed with two sons, Samuel and Aaron. Samuel and his wife Susan have two daughters, Addison and Emily, and Aaron and his wife Lynnsey have two daughters, Elearie and Ilah.

Wally's son Kim is married to Christine Wilmot, and they have a son, Gregory. Kim also has a daughter, Jessica Whitney, who married Pascal Desmangles earlier this year.

Wally and Marie raised their family in the Atlanta, GA area before moving to Norris, TN in 1989. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends, who knew him as a generous, loving man devoted to caring for and providing for his family. A member of the South Clinton Baptist Church, Wally was a man of deep faith. He taught his children by example, and treated others with the respect and honesty everyone deserves, but seldom gets. He was an air traffic controller at the FAA's Atlanta Center before his retirement in 1977 and was an artist, an accomplished photographer, and an avid sports fan. Go Falcons!

Wally served his country in the Navy as a radioman during WWII aboard the escort carrier USS Kalinin Bay . In 1944 his unit fought in the brutal Battle off Samar in the Philippines. At the tail end of the convoy, his poorly armored ship took hits from the largest battleship in the Japanese fleet and also the first kamikaze attacks of the war. Leaving the radio shack moments before his fellow radioman was killed by an 18-inch shell from the Yamoto , he continued to do his job under heavy fire as two carriers around him were sunk. His group of ships fought so well the Japanese believed they were up against a much larger enemy and withdrew, losing the last major naval battle of the war. But he never wanted anyone to think of him as a hero!

The family would like to give special thanks to Pam Forgety, Rhonda Morton and the entire staff of Meadow View for the years of attention and care they bestowed on Wally, especially since the death of Marie and during our current pandemic.

Arrangements will be made by Holley Gamble Funeral Home in Clinton, TN where friends can sign the guestbook on their website. The family will have a private graveside service with a Celebration of Life service that will be held at a later date.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be sent to the Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee or the Honor Flight Network which transports veterans to see their memorials in Washington, DC ( https://www.honorflight.org/donate-online.html ).  Holley Gamble Funeral Home in Clinton is in charge of all arrangements.  holleygamble.com