Dr. Don Tansil

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — Funeral service for Dr. Donald Wayne Tansil, 75, of Cookeville, was at noon Saturday at Cookeville First United Methodist Church, with Dr. Martin Thielen officiating. A graveside service with military honors followed at Hendrix Cemetery in Carter County, Tennessee.

The family received friends Friday evening at the Cookeville Chapel of Hooper, Huddleston and Horner Funeral Home and again Saturday before the church service.

Donald passed away quietly at home Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017.

He was born Dec. 2, 1941, at home in Weakley County, Tennessee, to the late William Harold and Wilma Jane Hansbrough Tansil. He was the younger brother of Winnie Faye Tansil.

Don graduated from Sharon High School in Sharon, Tennessee. He earned his undergraduate degree in pre-med at the University of Tennessee-Martin. Don enrolled in medical school at UT-Memphis, where he met his future wife. He met Joan Hendrix in the fall of 1964 at a church luncheon. Their courtship led to 50 years of marriage and two children, Tice Hendrix Tansil and Parish Ivey Tansil.

Don enjoyed a successful career as a family physician at the Student Health Center at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville.

Active in his community and church, Don also enjoyed singing, deep-sea fishing, reading and travel. He served in the U.S. Air Force in Altus, Oklahoma.

He is survived by his wife, Joan Hendrix Tansil; son, Tice Tansil; daughter, Parish Ivey Tansil; and sister and brother-in-law, Faye and Gerald Freeman of Cape Girardeau.

Honorary pallbearers are members of the Cookeville First United Methodist Church Forum Sunday school class and friends.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, 1359 Broadway, Suite 1509, New York, NY 10018.

You may share your thoughts and memories at www.hhhfunerals.com.