John Nelson Starnes Obituary
John Nelson Starnes, born on April 21, 1938, passed away on August 22, 2026. John Nelson leaves behind family members and others who acknowledge this loss. Family and friends are welcome to leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family.
He was predeceased by: his parents, Creed Nelson Starnes and Nelle Wolfe Starnes. He is survived by: his wife Patsy Houston Starnes; his daughters, Shannan Starnes Rosa (Cesar) of Piney Flats, Betsy Starnes (Leo Mazow) of Midlothian and Jennifer Starnes Scrugham (Richard) of Knoxville; and his grandchildren, Sophie, Erica, Luc Louis of Midlothian, Daniel Scrugham (Elizabeth) of Birmingham, Alabama, Andrew and Matthew Scrugham of Knoxville.
Visitation was held on Saturday, August 29th 2026 from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM at the Piney Flats United Methodist Church (225 Methodist Church St, Piney Flats, TN 37686). A funeral service was held on Saturday, August 29th 2026 at 2:00 PM at the same location. A graveside service was held on Saturday, August 29th 2026 from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM at the Shell Cemetery (225 Methodist Church St, Piney Flats, TN 37686).
An energetic and active person, he always had a project he was working on and rarely had an idle moment until Parkinson's forced him to slow down.
