Martin Jerome “Jerry” Strobel<\/strong><\/h2>\nWSM radio manager, ball player, Pappy<\/em><\/p>\nDuring his 30-year tenure with the Grand Ole Opry<\/em> \u2014 from 1970 through 2000 \u2014 Jerry Strobel did everything except sing onstage, though it was often said by those familiar with his clear, bright, classically trained tenor that one of the greatest voices at the Opry<\/em> was in the wings or backstage. Among Strobel\u2019s positions were media and communications, promotions, operations and eventually Opry House manager. During baseball season, the small television in his office was always tuned to a game, and other fans of the sport knew they could wander back there to catch an inning or two.\u00a0<\/p>\nStrobel\u2019s love of the game began while he was growing up in Germantown, blocks from minor league park Sulphur Dell, where he and his younger brother Charlie<\/a> could often be found when they could scrape up the quarter admission. When he wasn\u2019t at Assumption Catholic Church doing everything from painting walls to assisting with mass, Jerry was playing ball. He often joked, \u201cIf it rolls or bounces, I can play it.\u201d The Father Ryan graduate went on to Vanderbilt, joined the baseball team and became one of the original Vandy Boys.\u00a0<\/p>\nA gregarious man rarely seen without a smile on his face, Strobel loved events that brought people together. He was a founder of Oktoberfest (Nashville\u2019s oldest festival) and Fan Fair (now CMA Fest). A natural people person, Strobel was well-suited to marry into another well-known Nashville Catholic family \u2014 the Holzapfels. Strobel\u2019s wife Pat was one of 15 children; the couple had six children and 17 grandchildren, to whom he was simply Pappy. \u2014Kay West<\/p>\n
Michael Kilbane<\/strong><\/h2>\nJournalist, TV veteran, reliable friend<\/em><\/p>\nOn the afternoon of June 3, 2025, they pushed a half-dozen tables together in the center of Dalts for the biggest gathering of Nashville TV veterans in years. We were there to raise a glass and speak tribute to Michael Kilbane, someone the viewers never would have recognized \u2014 yet they all owe him a mighty debt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the flow chart, Kilbane was an assignment editor. But that title doesn\u2019t begin to explain his vital role. He had a Rolodex as deep as the Atlantic, and an understanding of Nashville history and culture that could have translated into a Ph.D.-level course. Kilbane would connect the dots on news stories before anyone else was even beginning to look at relationships, conflicts or potential corruption. And he could get people to talk<\/em>, a priceless talent for which there is no substitute. The greatest words you could hear from Kilbane on the phone or on a barstool were, \u201cI think I\u2019ve got a story for you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\nAfter stints at WSMV and WKRN, he took his talents to Diamond P Sports, and for the last 18 years of his life, Metro Nashville Network (aka Channel 3). Vanderbilt fans knew him by name as an usher at all sorts of sporting events. Even the NFL counted on Kilbane\u2019s reliability and precision. He wore the orange sleeves at Titans games that signaled to referees to go to commercial break. Michael Francis Kilbane \u201cwent to break\u201d on May 26, 2025. At 62, he was far too young to die, but I know for sure that he had truly lived. \u2014Demetria Kalodimos<\/p>\n
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\n \n <\/div><\/div>\n <\/p>\nLulu Roman<\/p>\n
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\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nLulu Roman<\/strong><\/h2>\nEntertainer, singer,<\/em> Hee Haw star<\/em><\/p>\nLulu Roman appeared on the first episode of Hee Haw<\/em> when CBS launched it in 1969 as a country counterpart to Rowan & Martin\u2019s Laugh-In<\/em>. And she appeared on its last when the syndicators finally gave it up in 1993. She wasn\u2019t on every episode in between: After a 1971 drug arrest, she was dropped from the cast. But she got clean, found Jesus and convinced the producers to let her return to the Kornfield in 1973. Brash and brassy at times and with perfect deadpan timing at others, memorable in supporting roles and bold enough to carry the lead, she was the kind of versatile cast member sketch shows love to have.<\/p>\nAn orphan who went unadopted, Roman struck out on her own as an adult, developing a nightclub act in which she was billed as \u201cThe World\u2019s Largest Go-Go Dancer.\u201d She was very popular in Dallas, where she worked in clubs owned by Jack Ruby. She was spotted by Buck Owens, who became a friend, and it was Owens who pushed for her inclusion in the Hee Haw<\/em> cast.<\/p>\nIn her later years, Roman added gospel singing to her repertoire, and she recorded with many of country\u2019s leading lights (including Dolly Parton). She was inducted into the Country Gospel Hall of Fame in 1999. Roman died in April at age 78. \u2014J.R. Lind<\/p>\n
Christine French Cully<\/strong><\/h2>\nLiteracy advocate, editor-in-chief of<\/em> Highlights\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nFor many years, copies of Highlights<\/em> magazine were found in the waiting rooms of every pediatrician\u2019s office, keeping anxious parents and feverish children occupied long before eyes were glued to tiny screens. During her decades with the company \u2014 starting in 1994 \u2014 Christine French Cully rose to editor-in-chief and steered the beloved and venerable publication into modern times. She guided the company\u2019s expansion from one magazine to three, launching High Five<\/em>, a publication designed for preschoolers, and Highlights<\/em> Hello<\/em>, a magazine for babies and toddlers.\u00a0<\/p>\nCully personally oversaw the company\u2019s longstanding tradition of answering every letter received from a child \u2014 more than 35,000 annually \u2014 and in 2021, she authored the book Dear Highlights: What Adults Can Learn From 70 Years of Children\u2019s Letters<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nShe moved to Nashville in 2018, where she provided literacy tutoring to public school children in Nashville. \u2014Kay West<\/p>\n
James Carlyle \u201cJim\u201d East<\/strong><\/h2>\nFather, writer, newspaperman<\/em><\/p>\nJim East brought wisdom and experience from a bygone era. A dyed-in-the-wool print journalist, he moved between newsrooms in Virginia, Louisiana and California before finally landing in Tennessee. Here he covered the city with broad range at the The Tennessean<\/em>, retiring from the Nashville paper in 2002. His pen stayed active in Franklin, where East kept writing for Franklin\u2019s Review Appeal<\/em> and the Williamson Home Page.\u00a0<\/p>\nHe loomed large as a keeper of old-school media discipline, accuracy, honesty and commitment, and reserved special attention for his dog Patches. East died in February at 81, leaving behind a son and extended family. \u2014Eli Motycka<\/p>\n
Dolores Seigenthaler<\/strong><\/h2>\nSinger, radio personality, wife of John Seigenthaler<\/em><\/p>\nBefore she became Mrs. John Seigenthaler in 1955 \u2014 in those days, married women were typically identified by their husband\u2019s name \u2014 she was Dolores Watson, a popular vocalist of stage, radio, recording and nascent television. Born in Kentucky and raised by her mother in Georgia, she pursued a professional singing career from a young age. Winning the Southern Radio Queen Contest, she came to Nashville in 1946 to sing with Owen Bradley\u2019s dance band at the Club Plantation. Hired by WSM radio in 1948, Watson \u2014 described by Nashville Banner<\/em> entertainment columnist Red O\u2019Donnell as a \u201ccomely carooneress\u201d \u2014 was the featured singer on WSM\u2019s Sunday Down South<\/em>, broadcast nationally on NBC Radio. In 1950, WSM launched Nashville\u2019s first television station, and she was on its daily morning show The Waking Crew<\/em> and Sunday night\u2019s Music City USA<\/em>, and remained in high demand for radio shows.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\nIn 1953, a cub reporter for The Tennessean<\/em> was assigned to cover a Centennial Park bandshell Father\u2019s Day concert where Watson was performing. John Seigenthaler was so taken with Dolores Watson he finagled a blind date. It wasn\u2019t until later he discovered how blind it was \u2014 Watson thought she was meeting a Tennessean<\/em> photographer, not a reporter. Despite having recorded \u201cBetter Dead Than Wed\u201d for Decca Records in 1950, Watson agreed to a second date; the courtship led to marriage. She continued singing until the birth of their son, future newsman John Michael Seigenthaler, and she wound down her career to raise him. She was ever by her husband\u2019s side as he built a legendary career in journalism, and her classic beauty, grace, elegance and radiant smile endeared her to all she met, all over the world. After John\u2019s death in 2014, she brought the same warmth to her volunteer work with Room In The Inn and Ladies of Charity. \u2014Kay West<\/p>\nJames Pratt<\/strong><\/h2>\nReporter, storyteller, breaker of news<\/em><\/p>\nI remember James Pratt this way \u2014 dressed in a baggy gray suit, along with a nice shirt and tie and worn penny loafers, hanging out in a press conference in the very back row, not asking anything. The reason he\u2019s not asking is because he\u2019s the very reason for the press conference \u2014 either on his own, or with a byline shared with another good Tennessean<\/em> reporter, he has authored a top-of-the-fold piece about the person featured at the press conference that has caused them to come and explain. Pratt has nothing more to ask. He knows who\u2019s done what.<\/p>\nThis was repeated time and again.<\/p>\n
It was his reporting on the failure of the Butcher banking empire in the \u201980s and the shenanigans of Nashville Mayor Bill Boner shortly afterward that brought him most acclaim. He began at the paper as a copy editor, but as they say, cream rises. After his time at The Tennessean,<\/em> Pratt went to work for Sen. Jim Sasser in D.C., jumped over to be comms director for the Senate\u2019s budget committee, spent some time at the well-connected Ingram Group, and then founded his own government relations firm.<\/p>\nMy most distinct recollections of James came while I was a reporter at the Nashville Banner<\/em>, competing against him. We weren\u2019t supposed to fraternize with the enemy, but he was such a great guy who loved to tell a story that ended with a big laugh. He took it all seriously, but at another level he loved to make fun of it all. He had a great mind, and when you saw his byline, you could do nothing else at that moment but read what he\u2019d written. \u2014Bruce Dobie<\/p>\n
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\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nBill Byrge<\/strong><\/h2>\nCharacter actor, comedian, friend of Ernest<\/em><\/p>\nThe Ernest P. Worrell acting troupe<\/a> rivals the regulars of Scorsese and the Coen brothers when it comes to character-actor uniqueness. One of the key members of the Worrell ensemble, longtime Nashvillian Bill\u00a0 Byrge, died in January at age 92.<\/p>\nBorn in East Tennessee\u2019s Campbell County, Byrge \u2014 better known to movie fans as the nearly silent Bobby \u2014 spent most of his life in the Nashville area. After appearing alongside fellow beloved Music City funnyman Gailard Sartain in the \u201cMe and My Brother Bobby\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 series of local commercials, Byrge landed a role in the short-lived children\u2019s sketch series Hey Vern, It\u2019s Ernest!<\/em> From there, Byrge was formally inducted into the Worrell family, making small but always memorable appearances in four of Jim Varney and company\u2019s Ernest<\/em> movies. \u2014Logan Butts\u00a0<\/p>\nCandance \u201cCandy\u201d McCampbell\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\nReporter, editor, business pioneer<\/em><\/p>\nThe eldest of eight siblings, Candy McCampbell was an aunt to many. A 1968 alumna of the University of Tennessee, she served as editor of the school newspaper there. Having started her career at The<\/em> Tennessean<\/em> just out of college in 1969, she became a trusted adviser to legions of young journalists and peers as the most tenured professional in the organization.<\/p>\nMcCampbell could perform most every task at the paper, including writing features and personal finance stories and editing the city and real estate sections. She ultimately became The Tennessean<\/em>\u2019s first business editor. She was proudest of helping break the news in 1985 that the Saturn Corp. would open a car-manufacturing plant in Tennessee.<\/p>\nMcCampbell was a trailblazer for women journalists and is remembered as someone who took her work very seriously without taking life too seriously. Thirty-three years in journalism was enough for McCampbell, who would go on to volunteer her time at Second Harvest Food Bank and the Frist Art Museum information desk. \u2014Hannah Herner<\/p>\n
Jack Corn<\/strong><\/h2>\nPhotojournalist, educator, husband<\/em><\/p>\nJack Corn was a documentarian, spending more than 70 years using photography to capture everything from Appalachian coal mining to country music. A U.S. Air Force veteran, Corn received early training from the Air Force photo school at Lowry Air Force base in Denver. In 1953, he began work as a staff photographer for The Tennessean,<\/em> where he worked for 23 years, eventually becoming chief photographer. During his time at the newspaper, Corn photographed twin boys born without a test for phenylketonuria (PKU). As a result of his photo story, Tennessee lawmakers passed legislation requiring that all babies undergo PKU testing at birth.\u00a0<\/p>\nCorn dedicated much of his career to educating future generations of photographers. He spent two years teaching photography at Nashville State Technical Institute (now Nashville State Community College). He spent 11 years working in the photojournalism department at Western Kentucky University, then joined the staff at the Chicago Tribune<\/em> as a consultant for the photo department, later becoming director of photography.\u00a0<\/p>\nHe contributed freelance work for a variety of publications, including The New York Times<\/em>, Newsweek<\/em>, U.S. News & World Report<\/em>, The Philadelphia Inquirer<\/em> and the U.S. Information Agency as well as hundreds of textbooks and anthologies. He garnered numerous local, national and international accolades for his work.\u00a0<\/p>\nCorn died in July at 96 years old at his home in Millersville, Tenn. He is survived by his wife of 73 years, Helen Floyd Corn. \u2014 Julianne Akers\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dennis Wile<\/strong><\/h2>\nPhotographer, father<\/em><\/p>\nDennis Wile grew up in Baltimore, but he moved to Nashville to attend Vanderbilt University. At Vanderbilt, he was a member of the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity, and he graduated with a degree in French. After graduation, he taught school as part of the VU program in Marseille, France, where he studied photography at Universit\u00e9 de Luminy \u2014 perhaps taking after his father, who was a field photographer in World War II<\/a>.<\/p>\nWhen Wile returned to Nashville, he continued photography \u2014 a pursuit that lasted for the next 50 years. His work included portraits, among them notable Tennesseans like William Eggleston and Johnny Cash. His photography appeared in the most high-profile publications in the world \u2014 Vogue<\/em>, The New York Times<\/em>, GQ<\/em> and National Geographic<\/em> among them.<\/p>\nIn his later years, Wile lived at the senior residential facility Leah Rose. With the assistance of his daughter Jen, Wile photographed and interviewed residents of Leah Rose in 2024. Wile is survived by his children Geoffrey Wile and Jennifer Wile, his grandchildren Katie and Charlie, and his brother Geoff Wile. His work remains online on his Instagram account (@denniswilephoto<\/a>). \u2014Laura Hutson Hunter<\/p>\nLane Wright\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\nActor, director, dedicated member of the theater community\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nNashville\u2019s theater community lost one of its greatest champions when Lane Wright died suddenly in August at the age of 69. A native Nashvillian, Wright graduated from Lipscomb University in 1977 and went on to earn a master\u2019s in theater from the University of Memphis. Over the next 40-plus years, he performed with virtually every company in the area, and also directed a number of notable productions. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Standing 6-foot-7, Wright didn\u2019t exactly blend into a crowd. And yet his kind and gentle spirit made him a safe and comforting presence in any room. A dedicated keeper of local theater history, he maintained a meticulous archive of playbills and news clippings. When Phil Perry \u2014 his best friend of more than 50 years \u2014 died in May, Wright put together a thoughtful celebration that revealed as much of his own legacy as that of the man being honored. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLane wasn\u2019t someone you only saw when he was onstage,\u201d says Nashville theater artist and activist Shawn Whitsell. \u201cHe was always showing up in the audience. He understood the importance of lifting up and celebrating his peers. He was as deeply committed to supporting the Nashville theater scene as an audience member, as he was as an actor and director.\u202fWhether I was onstage at TPAC with a big cast of well-respected actors or doing my one-man show at the Darkhorse, Lane was there. He did that for so many. It wasn\u2019t just because he loved theater, but because he believed in us. Our theater community is missing a gem.\u201d\u202f \u2014Amy Stumpfl<\/p>\n
Phil Perry<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\nBeloved actor, loyal friend<\/em><\/p>\nA beloved pillar of the theater community for more than three decades, Phil Perry passed away in May at the age of 69 following a brief illness. Originally from Dayton, Ohio, he graduated from Lipscomb University in 1977 and would spend the next 30-plus years pursuing his passion for the arts. He was among the founding members of the Nashville Shakespeare Festival and performed regularly with Nashville Children\u2019s Theatre, Chaffin\u2019s Barn Dinner Theatre, Nashville Rep, Actors Bridge Ensemble, Boiler Room Theatre and more. Fellow actors remember Perry\u2019s kindness and unfailing good humor, which set the tone for many a rehearsal room. But while known for his sweet disposition, he wasn\u2019t afraid to cut loose. (A 1993 production of Cintra Wilson\u2019s XXX Love Act<\/em> remains the stuff of local theater legend.)<\/p>\nPerry and his devoted wife Lee Ann Dixon left Nashville in 2017, moving first to Fernandina Beach, Fla., and later to Dalton, Ga. But Perry maintained close ties to Nashville, and especially with his best friend of more than 50 years, Lane Wright \u2014 who followed Perry in death just a few months later.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat always struck me about Phil onstage was his way of bringing that sweet-faced and even-keeled \u2018everyman\u2019 to every show he did,\u201d says Nashville stage veteran Brian Webb Russell. \u201cHe was an outstanding ensemble member and team player \u2014 always present, always focused, always on top of everything.\u202fBut this was also true offstage. The words most often used to describe Phil were kind, gentle, pleasant and affable. I truly don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever heard anyone say anything disparaging about the man, and that\u2019s a rarity for the often-lofty personalities you\u2019ll encounter in the theater.\u201d \u2014Amy Stumpfl<\/p>\n
Kim Fowler<\/strong><\/h2>\nMusic publicist, friend<\/em><\/p>\nBefore she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer\u2019s in 2017, Kim Fowler was known for her bright smile and warm, self-effacing charm. In her years as a music publicist at Sugar Hill Records, as well as Universal Music Group via Mercury Nashville, she worked with everyone from Shania Twain to Dolly Parton. In 2007, she founded her own management company, Two Dog Media.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She spent her final days at The Barton House Memory Care in Nashville. A GoFundMe account organized by her siblings quickly raised more than $50,000 as her friends and music industry colleagues assembled around what they knew would be her final days.<\/p>\n
Kim died on Sept. 18. She is survived by her sister Paige, her brother Shawn, and a legion of friends and supporters who will always remember her warmth and sharp wit. As Shawn wrote in a Facebook post just after her death, \u201cIt\u2019s been a long goodbye for many years, but it doesn\u2019t make it any easier.\u201d She was 58. \u2014Laura Hutson Hunter<\/p>\n
Dawna Kinne Magliacano<\/strong><\/h2>\nComedy scene pioneer, visual artist<\/em><\/p>\nNashville is home to a thriving comedy scene, and up-and-coming performers have Dawna Kinne Magliacano to thank for much of its success. Magliacano moved to Nashville from New York City in 2000. She soon set up Tuesday night shows at Zanies featuring an improv comedy troupe called The Skeleton Crew, made up of local stand-up comedians and thespians. The weekly show maintained a residency at Zanies for nearly a year and garnered a loyal local following, creating an accessible platform for new comedians in a scene that largely catered to long-established acts and veteran performers. During this time, Magliacano took young comics under wing. She guided them through the ins and outs of the industry, whether it was touring, having headshots taken or writing bios.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout her, Nashville comedy would not be what it is today,\u201d local comedian Chad Riden said in an Instagram post<\/a> shortly after Magliacano\u2019s death in October.\u00a0<\/p>\nA lifelong artist, Magliacano later transitioned into visual arts full time. She spent her days crafting in various mediums including sculpture, painting, quilting and printmaking. Along with her husband Joe Magliacano, she opened Acorn Haven Studios in Rutherford County, hosting workshops and open studios for artists of all skill sets. \u2014Julianne Akers<\/p>\n
Tom Turnbull<\/strong><\/h2>\nCeramicist, teacher<\/em><\/p>\nTom Turnbull was born to be a potter. His father, James Turnbull Sr., founded Standard Ceramic Supply Co. in Pittsburgh just a few years before Tom was born. Tom enriched this background by studying under potter Charles Counts, who was a student of both Appalachian folk art and the German Bauhaus movement. Tom returned to Pittsburgh for a time before finally settling in Nashville, where he founded Mid-South Ceramics in 1986. That community eventually evolved into The Clay Lady\u2019s Campus, which remains a vibrant part of Nashville\u2019s artistic community<\/a>.<\/p>\nTom died in June at age 73. He is survived by his siblings Joanne Turnbull and Jim Turnbull, as well as his three grandsons. His work remains archived at turnbullpottery.com<\/a>. \u2014Laura Hutson Hunter<\/p>\nSkip Cauthorn<\/strong><\/h2>\nMusician, politico, communicator<\/em><\/p>\nIt\u2019s a rare gift to turn talking into a livelihood; Skip Cauthorn made the most of his gift. Journalist, press secretary, public relations pro, speechwriter, entertaining co-worker \u2014 these were the many sides of a man central to Nashville\u2019s media landscape in the 2000s and 2010s. Cauthorn was a musician too, and a general lover of music, specifically the city\u2019s own brand of guitar-driven country and bluegrass.<\/p>\n
Cauthorn worked at The City Paper<\/em> before diving headfirst into politics, spending almost a decade steering state Capitol dealings as the Tennessee General Assembly press secretary for leading state Democrats during the then-Gov. Phil Bredesen\u2019s administration. Cauthorn\u2019s respect for an independent press won him esteem in newsrooms and press offices, summed up by his personal philosophy on journalism and life: \u201cDon\u2019t lie, don\u2019t hide and be nice.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\nHe died in Nashville in October at age 52, survived by his parents, brother and nephews. \u2014Eli Motycka<\/p>\n
During his 30-year tenure with the Grand Ole Opry<\/em> \u2014 from 1970 through 2000 \u2014 Jerry Strobel did everything except sing onstage, though it was often said by those familiar with his clear, bright, classically trained tenor that one of the greatest voices at the Opry<\/em> was in the wings or backstage. Among Strobel\u2019s positions were media and communications, promotions, operations and eventually Opry House manager. During baseball season, the small television in his office was always tuned to a game, and other fans of the sport knew they could wander back there to catch an inning or two.\u00a0<\/p>\n Strobel\u2019s love of the game began while he was growing up in Germantown, blocks from minor league park Sulphur Dell, where he and his younger brother Charlie<\/a> could often be found when they could scrape up the quarter admission. When he wasn\u2019t at Assumption Catholic Church doing everything from painting walls to assisting with mass, Jerry was playing ball. He often joked, \u201cIf it rolls or bounces, I can play it.\u201d The Father Ryan graduate went on to Vanderbilt, joined the baseball team and became one of the original Vandy Boys.\u00a0<\/p>\n A gregarious man rarely seen without a smile on his face, Strobel loved events that brought people together. He was a founder of Oktoberfest (Nashville\u2019s oldest festival) and Fan Fair (now CMA Fest). A natural people person, Strobel was well-suited to marry into another well-known Nashville Catholic family \u2014 the Holzapfels. Strobel\u2019s wife Pat was one of 15 children; the couple had six children and 17 grandchildren, to whom he was simply Pappy. \u2014Kay West<\/p>\n Journalist, TV veteran, reliable friend<\/em><\/p>\n On the afternoon of June 3, 2025, they pushed a half-dozen tables together in the center of Dalts for the biggest gathering of Nashville TV veterans in years. We were there to raise a glass and speak tribute to Michael Kilbane, someone the viewers never would have recognized \u2014 yet they all owe him a mighty debt.\u00a0<\/p>\n On the flow chart, Kilbane was an assignment editor. But that title doesn\u2019t begin to explain his vital role. He had a Rolodex as deep as the Atlantic, and an understanding of Nashville history and culture that could have translated into a Ph.D.-level course. Kilbane would connect the dots on news stories before anyone else was even beginning to look at relationships, conflicts or potential corruption. And he could get people to talk<\/em>, a priceless talent for which there is no substitute. The greatest words you could hear from Kilbane on the phone or on a barstool were, \u201cI think I\u2019ve got a story for you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n After stints at WSMV and WKRN, he took his talents to Diamond P Sports, and for the last 18 years of his life, Metro Nashville Network (aka Channel 3). Vanderbilt fans knew him by name as an usher at all sorts of sporting events. Even the NFL counted on Kilbane\u2019s reliability and precision. He wore the orange sleeves at Titans games that signaled to referees to go to commercial break. Michael Francis Kilbane \u201cwent to break\u201d on May 26, 2025. At 62, he was far too young to die, but I know for sure that he had truly lived. \u2014Demetria Kalodimos<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lulu Roman<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Entertainer, singer,<\/em> Hee Haw star<\/em><\/p>\n Lulu Roman appeared on the first episode of Hee Haw<\/em> when CBS launched it in 1969 as a country counterpart to Rowan & Martin\u2019s Laugh-In<\/em>. And she appeared on its last when the syndicators finally gave it up in 1993. She wasn\u2019t on every episode in between: After a 1971 drug arrest, she was dropped from the cast. But she got clean, found Jesus and convinced the producers to let her return to the Kornfield in 1973. Brash and brassy at times and with perfect deadpan timing at others, memorable in supporting roles and bold enough to carry the lead, she was the kind of versatile cast member sketch shows love to have.<\/p>\n An orphan who went unadopted, Roman struck out on her own as an adult, developing a nightclub act in which she was billed as \u201cThe World\u2019s Largest Go-Go Dancer.\u201d She was very popular in Dallas, where she worked in clubs owned by Jack Ruby. She was spotted by Buck Owens, who became a friend, and it was Owens who pushed for her inclusion in the Hee Haw<\/em> cast.<\/p>\n In her later years, Roman added gospel singing to her repertoire, and she recorded with many of country\u2019s leading lights (including Dolly Parton). She was inducted into the Country Gospel Hall of Fame in 1999. Roman died in April at age 78. \u2014J.R. Lind<\/p>\n Literacy advocate, editor-in-chief of<\/em> Highlights\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n For many years, copies of Highlights<\/em> magazine were found in the waiting rooms of every pediatrician\u2019s office, keeping anxious parents and feverish children occupied long before eyes were glued to tiny screens. During her decades with the company \u2014 starting in 1994 \u2014 Christine French Cully rose to editor-in-chief and steered the beloved and venerable publication into modern times. She guided the company\u2019s expansion from one magazine to three, launching High Five<\/em>, a publication designed for preschoolers, and Highlights<\/em> Hello<\/em>, a magazine for babies and toddlers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cully personally oversaw the company\u2019s longstanding tradition of answering every letter received from a child \u2014 more than 35,000 annually \u2014 and in 2021, she authored the book Dear Highlights: What Adults Can Learn From 70 Years of Children\u2019s Letters<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n She moved to Nashville in 2018, where she provided literacy tutoring to public school children in Nashville. \u2014Kay West<\/p>\n Father, writer, newspaperman<\/em><\/p>\n Jim East brought wisdom and experience from a bygone era. A dyed-in-the-wool print journalist, he moved between newsrooms in Virginia, Louisiana and California before finally landing in Tennessee. Here he covered the city with broad range at the The Tennessean<\/em>, retiring from the Nashville paper in 2002. His pen stayed active in Franklin, where East kept writing for Franklin\u2019s Review Appeal<\/em> and the Williamson Home Page.\u00a0<\/p>\n He loomed large as a keeper of old-school media discipline, accuracy, honesty and commitment, and reserved special attention for his dog Patches. East died in February at 81, leaving behind a son and extended family. \u2014Eli Motycka<\/p>\n Singer, radio personality, wife of John Seigenthaler<\/em><\/p>\n Before she became Mrs. John Seigenthaler in 1955 \u2014 in those days, married women were typically identified by their husband\u2019s name \u2014 she was Dolores Watson, a popular vocalist of stage, radio, recording and nascent television. Born in Kentucky and raised by her mother in Georgia, she pursued a professional singing career from a young age. Winning the Southern Radio Queen Contest, she came to Nashville in 1946 to sing with Owen Bradley\u2019s dance band at the Club Plantation. Hired by WSM radio in 1948, Watson \u2014 described by Nashville Banner<\/em> entertainment columnist Red O\u2019Donnell as a \u201ccomely carooneress\u201d \u2014 was the featured singer on WSM\u2019s Sunday Down South<\/em>, broadcast nationally on NBC Radio. In 1950, WSM launched Nashville\u2019s first television station, and she was on its daily morning show The Waking Crew<\/em> and Sunday night\u2019s Music City USA<\/em>, and remained in high demand for radio shows.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n In 1953, a cub reporter for The Tennessean<\/em> was assigned to cover a Centennial Park bandshell Father\u2019s Day concert where Watson was performing. John Seigenthaler was so taken with Dolores Watson he finagled a blind date. It wasn\u2019t until later he discovered how blind it was \u2014 Watson thought she was meeting a Tennessean<\/em> photographer, not a reporter. Despite having recorded \u201cBetter Dead Than Wed\u201d for Decca Records in 1950, Watson agreed to a second date; the courtship led to marriage. She continued singing until the birth of their son, future newsman John Michael Seigenthaler, and she wound down her career to raise him. She was ever by her husband\u2019s side as he built a legendary career in journalism, and her classic beauty, grace, elegance and radiant smile endeared her to all she met, all over the world. After John\u2019s death in 2014, she brought the same warmth to her volunteer work with Room In The Inn and Ladies of Charity. \u2014Kay West<\/p>\n Reporter, storyteller, breaker of news<\/em><\/p>\n I remember James Pratt this way \u2014 dressed in a baggy gray suit, along with a nice shirt and tie and worn penny loafers, hanging out in a press conference in the very back row, not asking anything. The reason he\u2019s not asking is because he\u2019s the very reason for the press conference \u2014 either on his own, or with a byline shared with another good Tennessean<\/em> reporter, he has authored a top-of-the-fold piece about the person featured at the press conference that has caused them to come and explain. Pratt has nothing more to ask. He knows who\u2019s done what.<\/p>\n This was repeated time and again.<\/p>\n It was his reporting on the failure of the Butcher banking empire in the \u201980s and the shenanigans of Nashville Mayor Bill Boner shortly afterward that brought him most acclaim. He began at the paper as a copy editor, but as they say, cream rises. After his time at The Tennessean,<\/em> Pratt went to work for Sen. Jim Sasser in D.C., jumped over to be comms director for the Senate\u2019s budget committee, spent some time at the well-connected Ingram Group, and then founded his own government relations firm.<\/p>\n My most distinct recollections of James came while I was a reporter at the Nashville Banner<\/em>, competing against him. We weren\u2019t supposed to fraternize with the enemy, but he was such a great guy who loved to tell a story that ended with a big laugh. He took it all seriously, but at another level he loved to make fun of it all. He had a great mind, and when you saw his byline, you could do nothing else at that moment but read what he\u2019d written. \u2014Bruce Dobie<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bill Byrge<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Character actor, comedian, friend of Ernest<\/em><\/p>\n The Ernest P. Worrell acting troupe<\/a> rivals the regulars of Scorsese and the Coen brothers when it comes to character-actor uniqueness. One of the key members of the Worrell ensemble, longtime Nashvillian Bill\u00a0 Byrge, died in January at age 92.<\/p>\n Born in East Tennessee\u2019s Campbell County, Byrge \u2014 better known to movie fans as the nearly silent Bobby \u2014 spent most of his life in the Nashville area. After appearing alongside fellow beloved Music City funnyman Gailard Sartain in the \u201cMe and My Brother Bobby\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 series of local commercials, Byrge landed a role in the short-lived children\u2019s sketch series Hey Vern, It\u2019s Ernest!<\/em> From there, Byrge was formally inducted into the Worrell family, making small but always memorable appearances in four of Jim Varney and company\u2019s Ernest<\/em> movies. \u2014Logan Butts\u00a0<\/p>\n Reporter, editor, business pioneer<\/em><\/p>\n The eldest of eight siblings, Candy McCampbell was an aunt to many. A 1968 alumna of the University of Tennessee, she served as editor of the school newspaper there. Having started her career at The<\/em> Tennessean<\/em> just out of college in 1969, she became a trusted adviser to legions of young journalists and peers as the most tenured professional in the organization.<\/p>\n McCampbell could perform most every task at the paper, including writing features and personal finance stories and editing the city and real estate sections. She ultimately became The Tennessean<\/em>\u2019s first business editor. She was proudest of helping break the news in 1985 that the Saturn Corp. would open a car-manufacturing plant in Tennessee.<\/p>\n McCampbell was a trailblazer for women journalists and is remembered as someone who took her work very seriously without taking life too seriously. Thirty-three years in journalism was enough for McCampbell, who would go on to volunteer her time at Second Harvest Food Bank and the Frist Art Museum information desk. \u2014Hannah Herner<\/p>\n Photojournalist, educator, husband<\/em><\/p>\n Jack Corn was a documentarian, spending more than 70 years using photography to capture everything from Appalachian coal mining to country music. A U.S. Air Force veteran, Corn received early training from the Air Force photo school at Lowry Air Force base in Denver. In 1953, he began work as a staff photographer for The Tennessean,<\/em> where he worked for 23 years, eventually becoming chief photographer. During his time at the newspaper, Corn photographed twin boys born without a test for phenylketonuria (PKU). As a result of his photo story, Tennessee lawmakers passed legislation requiring that all babies undergo PKU testing at birth.\u00a0<\/p>\n Corn dedicated much of his career to educating future generations of photographers. He spent two years teaching photography at Nashville State Technical Institute (now Nashville State Community College). He spent 11 years working in the photojournalism department at Western Kentucky University, then joined the staff at the Chicago Tribune<\/em> as a consultant for the photo department, later becoming director of photography.\u00a0<\/p>\n He contributed freelance work for a variety of publications, including The New York Times<\/em>, Newsweek<\/em>, U.S. News & World Report<\/em>, The Philadelphia Inquirer<\/em> and the U.S. Information Agency as well as hundreds of textbooks and anthologies. He garnered numerous local, national and international accolades for his work.\u00a0<\/p>\n Corn died in July at 96 years old at his home in Millersville, Tenn. He is survived by his wife of 73 years, Helen Floyd Corn. \u2014 Julianne Akers\u00a0<\/p>\n Photographer, father<\/em><\/p>\n Dennis Wile grew up in Baltimore, but he moved to Nashville to attend Vanderbilt University. At Vanderbilt, he was a member of the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity, and he graduated with a degree in French. After graduation, he taught school as part of the VU program in Marseille, France, where he studied photography at Universit\u00e9 de Luminy \u2014 perhaps taking after his father, who was a field photographer in World War II<\/a>.<\/p>\n When Wile returned to Nashville, he continued photography \u2014 a pursuit that lasted for the next 50 years. His work included portraits, among them notable Tennesseans like William Eggleston and Johnny Cash. His photography appeared in the most high-profile publications in the world \u2014 Vogue<\/em>, The New York Times<\/em>, GQ<\/em> and National Geographic<\/em> among them.<\/p>\n In his later years, Wile lived at the senior residential facility Leah Rose. With the assistance of his daughter Jen, Wile photographed and interviewed residents of Leah Rose in 2024. Wile is survived by his children Geoffrey Wile and Jennifer Wile, his grandchildren Katie and Charlie, and his brother Geoff Wile. His work remains online on his Instagram account (@denniswilephoto<\/a>). \u2014Laura Hutson Hunter<\/p>\n Actor, director, dedicated member of the theater community\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Nashville\u2019s theater community lost one of its greatest champions when Lane Wright died suddenly in August at the age of 69. A native Nashvillian, Wright graduated from Lipscomb University in 1977 and went on to earn a master\u2019s in theater from the University of Memphis. Over the next 40-plus years, he performed with virtually every company in the area, and also directed a number of notable productions. \u00a0<\/p>\n Standing 6-foot-7, Wright didn\u2019t exactly blend into a crowd. And yet his kind and gentle spirit made him a safe and comforting presence in any room. A dedicated keeper of local theater history, he maintained a meticulous archive of playbills and news clippings. When Phil Perry \u2014 his best friend of more than 50 years \u2014 died in May, Wright put together a thoughtful celebration that revealed as much of his own legacy as that of the man being honored. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLane wasn\u2019t someone you only saw when he was onstage,\u201d says Nashville theater artist and activist Shawn Whitsell. \u201cHe was always showing up in the audience. He understood the importance of lifting up and celebrating his peers. He was as deeply committed to supporting the Nashville theater scene as an audience member, as he was as an actor and director.\u202fWhether I was onstage at TPAC with a big cast of well-respected actors or doing my one-man show at the Darkhorse, Lane was there. He did that for so many. It wasn\u2019t just because he loved theater, but because he believed in us. Our theater community is missing a gem.\u201d\u202f \u2014Amy Stumpfl<\/p>\n Beloved actor, loyal friend<\/em><\/p>\n A beloved pillar of the theater community for more than three decades, Phil Perry passed away in May at the age of 69 following a brief illness. Originally from Dayton, Ohio, he graduated from Lipscomb University in 1977 and would spend the next 30-plus years pursuing his passion for the arts. He was among the founding members of the Nashville Shakespeare Festival and performed regularly with Nashville Children\u2019s Theatre, Chaffin\u2019s Barn Dinner Theatre, Nashville Rep, Actors Bridge Ensemble, Boiler Room Theatre and more. Fellow actors remember Perry\u2019s kindness and unfailing good humor, which set the tone for many a rehearsal room. But while known for his sweet disposition, he wasn\u2019t afraid to cut loose. (A 1993 production of Cintra Wilson\u2019s XXX Love Act<\/em> remains the stuff of local theater legend.)<\/p>\n Perry and his devoted wife Lee Ann Dixon left Nashville in 2017, moving first to Fernandina Beach, Fla., and later to Dalton, Ga. But Perry maintained close ties to Nashville, and especially with his best friend of more than 50 years, Lane Wright \u2014 who followed Perry in death just a few months later.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat always struck me about Phil onstage was his way of bringing that sweet-faced and even-keeled \u2018everyman\u2019 to every show he did,\u201d says Nashville stage veteran Brian Webb Russell. \u201cHe was an outstanding ensemble member and team player \u2014 always present, always focused, always on top of everything.\u202fBut this was also true offstage. The words most often used to describe Phil were kind, gentle, pleasant and affable. I truly don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever heard anyone say anything disparaging about the man, and that\u2019s a rarity for the often-lofty personalities you\u2019ll encounter in the theater.\u201d \u2014Amy Stumpfl<\/p>\n Music publicist, friend<\/em><\/p>\n Before she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer\u2019s in 2017, Kim Fowler was known for her bright smile and warm, self-effacing charm. In her years as a music publicist at Sugar Hill Records, as well as Universal Music Group via Mercury Nashville, she worked with everyone from Shania Twain to Dolly Parton. In 2007, she founded her own management company, Two Dog Media.\u00a0<\/p>\n She spent her final days at The Barton House Memory Care in Nashville. A GoFundMe account organized by her siblings quickly raised more than $50,000 as her friends and music industry colleagues assembled around what they knew would be her final days.<\/p>\n Kim died on Sept. 18. She is survived by her sister Paige, her brother Shawn, and a legion of friends and supporters who will always remember her warmth and sharp wit. As Shawn wrote in a Facebook post just after her death, \u201cIt\u2019s been a long goodbye for many years, but it doesn\u2019t make it any easier.\u201d She was 58. \u2014Laura Hutson Hunter<\/p>\n Comedy scene pioneer, visual artist<\/em><\/p>\n Nashville is home to a thriving comedy scene, and up-and-coming performers have Dawna Kinne Magliacano to thank for much of its success. Magliacano moved to Nashville from New York City in 2000. She soon set up Tuesday night shows at Zanies featuring an improv comedy troupe called The Skeleton Crew, made up of local stand-up comedians and thespians. The weekly show maintained a residency at Zanies for nearly a year and garnered a loyal local following, creating an accessible platform for new comedians in a scene that largely catered to long-established acts and veteran performers. During this time, Magliacano took young comics under wing. She guided them through the ins and outs of the industry, whether it was touring, having headshots taken or writing bios.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWithout her, Nashville comedy would not be what it is today,\u201d local comedian Chad Riden said in an Instagram post<\/a> shortly after Magliacano\u2019s death in October.\u00a0<\/p>\n A lifelong artist, Magliacano later transitioned into visual arts full time. She spent her days crafting in various mediums including sculpture, painting, quilting and printmaking. Along with her husband Joe Magliacano, she opened Acorn Haven Studios in Rutherford County, hosting workshops and open studios for artists of all skill sets. \u2014Julianne Akers<\/p>\n Ceramicist, teacher<\/em><\/p>\n Tom Turnbull was born to be a potter. His father, James Turnbull Sr., founded Standard Ceramic Supply Co. in Pittsburgh just a few years before Tom was born. Tom enriched this background by studying under potter Charles Counts, who was a student of both Appalachian folk art and the German Bauhaus movement. Tom returned to Pittsburgh for a time before finally settling in Nashville, where he founded Mid-South Ceramics in 1986. That community eventually evolved into The Clay Lady\u2019s Campus, which remains a vibrant part of Nashville\u2019s artistic community<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tom died in June at age 73. He is survived by his siblings Joanne Turnbull and Jim Turnbull, as well as his three grandsons. His work remains archived at turnbullpottery.com<\/a>. \u2014Laura Hutson Hunter<\/p>\n Musician, politico, communicator<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s a rare gift to turn talking into a livelihood; Skip Cauthorn made the most of his gift. Journalist, press secretary, public relations pro, speechwriter, entertaining co-worker \u2014 these were the many sides of a man central to Nashville\u2019s media landscape in the 2000s and 2010s. Cauthorn was a musician too, and a general lover of music, specifically the city\u2019s own brand of guitar-driven country and bluegrass.<\/p>\n Cauthorn worked at The City Paper<\/em> before diving headfirst into politics, spending almost a decade steering state Capitol dealings as the Tennessee General Assembly press secretary for leading state Democrats during the then-Gov. Phil Bredesen\u2019s administration. Cauthorn\u2019s respect for an independent press won him esteem in newsrooms and press offices, summed up by his personal philosophy on journalism and life: \u201cDon\u2019t lie, don\u2019t hide and be nice.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n He died in Nashville in October at age 52, survived by his parents, brother and nephews. \u2014Eli Motycka<\/p>\nMichael Kilbane<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nLulu Roman<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Christine French Cully<\/strong><\/h2>\n
James Carlyle \u201cJim\u201d East<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Dolores Seigenthaler<\/strong><\/h2>\n
James Pratt<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nBill Byrge<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Candance \u201cCandy\u201d McCampbell\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Jack Corn<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Dennis Wile<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Lane Wright\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Phil Perry<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Kim Fowler<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Dawna Kinne Magliacano<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Tom Turnbull<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Skip Cauthorn<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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