Reagan Austin

Michael “Reagan” Austin, 42, died Sunday, April 10, 2022, in his home in Cookeville, TN. Reagan was born on February 7, 1980 to parents Rob and Vicki Austin. After graduating from Cookeville High School in 1998, he received a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism in 2003 and a Master’s degree in English Literature and Secondary Education in 2007. He had a 13-year career as an Athletic Coordinator for the City of Cookeville Department of Leisure Services’ Cane Creek facility. If you were to ask Reagan what brought him the most joy in life, he would tell you it was his son Cooper, his fraternity, and baseball. He would tell you the greatest day of his life was the day he became a father. There wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t beam with pride when he had the opportunity to talk about Cooper and how proud he was of him. Baseball had been a significant part of Reagan’s life since he was old enough to play T-ball. His accolades include coaching a 15-year-old Babe Ruth team to the All-Stars and being a student coach for Tennessee Tech University’s baseball team. He was an honorary initiate member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon (ΣAE) since 1999, served as chapter president in 2003, and named as Eminent Archon in 2003. The brotherhood of his fraternity were his extended family and Reagan was extremely passionate about supporting his local SAE chapter. In addition to Cooper, Reagan is survived by his father, Rob; his five siblings, Lynn Austin of Sarasota, FL; Leanne Austin of Indian Shores, FL; Lauran (John) Willoughby of Tampa, FL; Ariaun (Jeremy) Loveday of Knoxville, TN; Erin Austin of Cookeville, TN; and eight nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his mother, Vicki Moore Austin; paternal grandparents, Robert and Mary Austin; and maternal grandparents, Ernest Olin and Willie King Moore. A Celebration of Reagan’s Life will be held on Saturday, April 16, at 2:00 p.m. in the Family Life Center of Christ’s Community Church, with visitation from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Cooper Austin's GoFundMe page by clicking the "Visit Website" link below Memorial Contributions.