George Dagley

George Washington Dagley Jr., 97, a resident of Signal Mountain, died November 19, 2023 in Memorial Hospital, Chattanooga, TN after a brief illness. He was born August 10, 1926, in Wartburg, TN to George Washington Dagley Sr. and Rebecca Chester Dagley.

His childhood in Wartburg during the Great Depression was mostly carefree, and he was surrounded by family and folk whose antics he shared with panache and warm humor as a lifelong teller of Wartburg stories.

In 1943, he enlisted in the Navy, joining both his older brothers in service. He served as a signalman on the SS Ovid Butler and survived the October 1945 typhoon at Buckner Bay, Okinawa. His was the last in an unbroken line of family military service dating back to his great-great-great grandfather, Elias Dagley, in the French and Indian War. George was a member of the Tennessee Society Sons of the American Revolution, John Sevier Chapter.

A graduate of Central High School in Wartburg, he studied at UT Business College in Knoxville. He worked in materials management for Abbott Laboratories in Oak Ridge, TN, and moved with Abbott from Oak Ridge to North Chicago, IL. He returned to Tennessee in 1968 and worked for Lear Siegler in Morristown, TN until 1980 when he moved to Pikeville. He retired from Johnson Controls, Pikeville, TN, in 1989.

George blossomed in retirement and relished hobbies including woodworking, gardening, home remodeling, listening to jazz, and telling stories to his many friends and family. He was known for his utterly wholesome sense of humor, his wisdom and sensibility, his love of dessert after every meal, his love for the United States and her people, his love of the Tennessee landscape, and his incomparable optimism. He remained open to new friendships throughout his life and knew by name each of his fellow sixth floor residents in assisted living. He was a member of Calvary Presbyterian Church of Big Lick in Crossville, TN and was an early volunteer and board member for Creative Compassion, Inc., Crossville, offering many hours to the construction and repair of affordable housing.

George was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Russell Dagley and Chester Dagley, sister Myra Dagley Goad, and his wife of sixty years, Betty Hart Dagley. He is survived by five children: Janet (Michael) Dagley of Cathedral City, CA; Jeff (Beate) Dagley of Troy, OH; Elizabeth Thomas of Pikeville, TN; Gwen (Ben) Ikenberry of Fincastle, VA; and Myra Dagley (Mike Allison) of Joelton, TN; grandchildren Jesse Lynch (Kamil Stranik) of Palm Desert, CA; Sallie Lynch (Andy Flatley) of Bronxville, NY; Roy (Amanda) Dagley of Troy, OH; Rick (Shannon) Dagley of Englewood, OH; Hale Hudson, Bert Hudson of Brooklyn, NY; namesake George William Thomas of Chicago, IL; great grandchildren Jonah Dagley, Frank Dagley, Parker Dagley, Callie Dagley, and Marley Dagley, of Englewood, OH, Elijah Dagley of Troy, OH, and Zoe Flatley of Bronxville, NY, many beloved nieces and nephews, beloved friends Jack Roberson (Kathy) and Scott Matthews (Suzanne) of Pikeville, TN, and the residents of Alexian Village Assisted Living including Thelma Churchwell whose daily supply of her garden flowers brought beauty and even more friendship to his life.

Visitation is Sunday, November 26th, from 4-6 pm Central at Pikeville Funeral Home, Pikeville, TN. Funeral is Monday, November 27th at 10am Central at Pikeville Funeral Home with burial to follow at 2 pm Eastern in Wartburg Cemetery, Wartburg, TN. The family is grateful to the wonderful staff of both Alexian Village and Memorial Hospital for their compassionate care.

Schubert Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of George Washington Dagley Jr.