Ron Chambers

Funeral services for Roland “Ron” “Coach” Owings Chambers, age 75, will be held Monday, January 3, 2022, at 2:00 pm in the Cookeville First Baptist Church. Pastor Scott McKinney and Marc Burnett will officiate. Interment with military honors will follow in Crest Lawn Memorial Cemetery. The family will receive friends Monday from 11:00 a.m. until service time at the church. Coach Chambers passed away unexpectedly December 30, 2021, at Cookeville Regional Medical Center. He was born on January 9, 1946, in Maryville, TN, to the late Maurice and Marion Chambers. He was a graduate of Everett High School and proudly served his country as an honorable Sergeant E5 in the United States Army leading a mortar team and was a medaled Veteran of the Vietnam War. Coach Ron Chambers moved to Cookeville where he attended Tennessee Tech University and earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees as well as an Ed.S. Coach Chambers spent over 40 years in the Putnam County School System as a beloved teacher, administrator, mentor, FCA leader, and football coach. He was a member of First Baptist Church in Cookeville for 36 years. Throughout our community, Coach Chambers was known as a true gentleman and a difference maker in His Kingdom. Coach Ron Chambers will be remembered as a true Christian man of faith, a class act, and a man who loved Jesus, people, and Tennessee football. Described by loved ones as a giant of a man, his gentle spirit and full-of-life personality made all who knew him feel loved. Among his proudest accomplishments were his children and grandchildren who called him Papaw and living a true testament to his Christian faith. Coach Chambers believed in the power of prayer, and his smile and positive outlook on life healed those who needed it most. Known by many as a golf enthusiast and connoisseur of the Waffle House ministry, Coach Chambers also loved playing the drums and was a member of the neighborhood band “Time’s a Tickin” along with Mike Powell (guitar), Larry Maddux (bass), Jeff Dicey (keyboard), and Larry Burks (guitar). Routinely dressed in orange and white, Coach Chambers often shouted “Go Vols!” If Coach Ron Chambers could leave us with one last smile he’d say, “Glory! It’s a great day to get better.” Coach Chambers is preceded in death by his parents, brothers Gene and Jerome Chambers, and his late wife Seawillow (Malone) Chambers of Alcoa, TN. He is survived by his wife of 24 years, Janna Hearn Reese Chambers of Cookeville; son Jon (Wendy) Chambers and grandchildren Emma Blackburn, Henry and Ava Chambers of Maryville; daughter Andrea (Joe) Sansone and grandchildren Dillon Brown and Christina Sansone of Dayton; son Adam Chambers of Nolensville; son Brian (Emily) Chambers and grandsons Grey and Coen Chambers of Cookeville; son Josh (Kelsey) Reese and grandchildren Wilkes and Della Reese of Knoxville; and son Caleb (Brittany) Reese and grandchild Ellie Kate Reese of Cookeville. He is also survived by his sister Charlotte (Ron) Hammontree of Maryville and brother Rusty (Julia) Chambers of Maryville. Pallbearers include Jon Chambers, Adam Chambers, Brian Chambers, Josh Reese, Caleb Reese, Rusty Chambers, Henry Chambers and Dillon Brown. Honorary pallbearers include Shane Allen, Roger Holder, Lonnie Donaldson, Pat Swallows, Steve Hertzfeldt, Noel Cherry, Hal Denton and Joe Erdeljac, along with all former players, coaches and students. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Chambers Grandchildren Education Fund at F&M Bank, 900 N Washington Ave., Cookeville, TN, 38501; FCA Upper Cumberland at 444B Neal Street, Cookeville, TN, 38501; and/or to Rescue Freedom (Human Trafficking Ministry), PO Box 77, Kirkland, WA, 98053. Remembrances and expressions of sympathy may be mailed to Andrea Sansone 208 Riverbend Dr., Dayton, TN, 37321 or emailed to tgi4givn@yahoo.com. Hooper Huddleston & Horner Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. (931)526-6111. Share memories and condolences at www.hhhfunerals.com.