Parsons Native Joe Lewis Montgomery Sr., 91, Korean War Veteran, Dies

Joe Lewis Montgomery Sr., a Parsons native who graduated from Parsons High School in 1953 and went on to serve in the U.S. Army during the Korean War era, died in late March at the age of 91. Parsons Mortuary will hold his funeral Saturday, April 4, giving classmates, veterans, and longtime neighbors across Decatur County one day to gather in the town where he was born.

Visitation begins at 11 a.m. Saturday at Parsons Mortuary, 134 W. 2nd St. Funeral services follow at 12:30 p.m. Burial will take place at New Prospect Cemetery.

Montgomery's life tracked the arc of his generation: a Decatur County boyhood, a 1953 high school diploma as the Korean War's armistice neared, then Army service before he enrolled at the University of Tennessee, attending both the Knoxville and Martin campuses. He built his professional life as an insurance executive over the following decades and became a long-time member of Brentwood Baptist Church.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Anna Lee (Renfroe) Montgomery; his parents, William Lewis Montgomery and Alma (Moore) Montgomery; his sister Valera Milam; his brothers R.C. and Thomas; and his daughter Jill Lee Montgomery. He is survived by his son Joe Jr., daughter-in-law Lisa, and sister Edwina Butler.

Saturday's services at Parsons Mortuary offer surviving members of the Parsons High School Class of 1953, fellow Army veterans, and friends from across the county an opportunity to pay their respects in the same community where Montgomery spent his earliest years. Those wishing to contact the family before services can reach Parsons Mortuary at 731-847-3441.