SMHC Honors the Memory of Lionel Edney

Lionel Edney was a distinguished long-time hiker, SMHC member, former Club president, newsletter/handbook editor, and secretary. He will be fondly remembered by the Club. Here is Mr. Edney's obituary as it appeared in the Knoxville News-Sentinel:

EDNEY, ARTHUR LIONEL - age 90 of Knoxville, died Thursday, May 1, 2008. He was born September 3, 1917 in Hickman County, Tennessee to Arthur L. and Martha Reeves Edney. After graduating from high school in Centerville, Tennessee, he attended Draughon's Business College and Siena College in Memphis, where he was employed until late 1940. A brief vacation in Gatlinburg in 1937 created a love of the Great Smoky Mountains that would endure for the rest of his life. In January 1941, he eagerly moved to Knoxville and was employed by TVA a month later. He took pride in describing himself as a Middle Tennessean by birth, West Tennessean by accident, and East Tennessean by choice. Adhering to family tradition of Methodist loyalty since the 1790's, he was for ten years a member of First Methodist Church in Knoxville and had been a member of Church Street United Methodist Church since February 1951. During World War II he served in the United States Army at Ft. Bragg, NC for over 3 years, rising to Staff Sergeant Rank. Upon retiring to Knoxville and resuming employment with TVA, he again became active in the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club, hiking thousands of miles in the Smokies and holding offices including two terms as president, one term as handbook editor, and twenty years as membership secretary and newsletter editor. Having joined the club in February 1942 he had the proud distinction of ranking third in longevity in the now 600 plus membership. He also served twenty years as a member of the Appalachian Trail Conference Board of Managers. In later years, he backpacked with friends in the mountains of the Western United States and eventually turned to extensive hiking in the Alps of Switzerland and Austria, sometimes staying several months. After retiring from TVA at the end of 1976, he had not failed to make at least an annual trip to visit friends in favorite areas of the Alps. In addition to church and hiking activities, he was a strong supporter of the Lady Vols basketball team. Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by a sister, Nina Edney Childress. Except for cousins living at a distance, there are no survivors. His ashes will be placed in the Mausoleum of Highland Memorial Cemetery, facing his beloved Smoky Mountains. A Service of Remembrance and Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6 at Church Street United Methodist Church, Pastor William J. Fowler and Pastor Cabel W. Trent officiating. Memorials should be made to Church Street United Methodist Church, PO Box 1303, Knoxville, TN 37901. www.highlandmemorialparks.com.

The photo to the left is from the UT Dutch Roth Collection and pictures Lionel on Maddron Bald in the Smokies on Feb. 2, 1947.