ERNEST LOGAN PETTY, JR. was born May 28, 1927 in Cookeville, Tennessee and died February 19, 2014 in Owens Cross Roads, Alabama. He was the eldest son of Ernest Logan Petty, Sr. and Mattie Leona Flatt Petty. He was married for 68 years to Edna Jeniece Carver Petty, who survives.
Other survivors include his four sons, Dr. John (Carol) Petty of Tullahoma, TN, Vernon (Michelle) Petty of Huntsville, Victor (Diane) Petty of Huntsville, and Tim (Lisa) Petty of Canton, GA; two daughters, Lin (Bob) Hayden of Huntsville, and Mary (Chris) Smith of Huntsville; one brother, Joe (Dean) Petty of Chattanooga; seventeen grandchildren, Dr. Traci (John) Brewer, Lee Crabtree, Eric (Courtney) Hayden, Leah (Josh) Stults, Jeff Petty, Jeannie (Siran) Stacy, Julia Petty, Jackson Petty, Jacquie (Kevin) Junot, Luke Smith, Ben Smith, Kaitlin Petty, Carver Petty, Zac Petty, Hannah Petty, Rachel Petty, and Hayden Petty; six great-grandchildren, Molly Brewer, Sadie Brewer, Bailey Brewer, Ella Stults, Shelly Stacy, and Joseph Junot; and seven nieces and nephews.
A 1945 graduate of Chattanooga Central High School, he served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps after the conclusion of World War II. In Chattanooga, he worked as a letter carrier for the U.S. Post Office (East Ridge) and delivered newspapers for the Chattanooga News-Free Press in a large area of Brainerd.
After the birth of his sixth child, he fulfilled a dream by returning to college and graduating from the University of Chattanooga in May 1966 with a degree in Mathematics. The family moved to Huntsville that year and he began work for the U.S. Army Missile Command, retiring with 45 total years of federal service.
The abiding passion of his life, other than wife or family, was his service to the Lord’s Kingdom. Baptized into Christ in 1944 by brother Gardner Hall, he served as a deacon of the Brainerd Church of Christ (Chattanooga) and served as an elder of the Mayfair Church of Christ for 36 years. He organized and led numerous evangelistic campaigns in the western U.S. and visited and encouraged mission churches in Thailand, South Africa, Scotland, and the Ukraine.
Visitation with the family will be at the Mayfair Church of Christ from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Saturday. Funeral services will be held Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at Mayfair Church of Christ. A private graveside service for family only will follow at Maple Hill Cemetery. (www.laughlinservice.com)
In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to Mayfair Missions or Harding University.
