Dr. Terry Randall Vinson was born on September 5, 1953. He died in a Chattanooga hospital on September 18, 2011 following a brief illness.
Preceded in death by his grandparents, Robert and Evelyn Vinson and Melvin and Ella Mae Kilgore; and uncle Bill Vinson, he had been a member of the Richard City Cumberland Presbyterian Church for 40 years, serving as both elder and treasurer. He graduated from South Pittsburg High School in 1971, was a member of the first SPHS Football State Championship team of 1969, graduated MTSU in 1976 and Southern College of Optometry in 1980. He had been a member of the Lions Club and the South Pittsburg Rotary Club; he had served as a board member for Sequatchie Valley Electric Cooperative and the South Pittsburg Housing Authority. Dr. Vinson owned and operated the Vinson Vision Center.
He is survived by his wife, Maria Rosa Garcia Vinson of South Pittsburg; children, Mark Vinson of Chicago, IL and Stuart Vinson of Nashville, TN; his parents, Raymond and Imogene Kilgore Vinson of South Pittsburg; siblings, Sharon Kellermann and Bobby Vinson both of South Pittsburg.
Randall loved spending time with his family more than anything. He met his wife, Rosa, on a volunteer optometry mission trip to Costa Rica. A year later they were married on April 4, 1981 in Costa Rica, followed by a ceremony in South Pittsburg on April 17, 1981. One of his proudest joys in life was the relationship his sons have developed with one another. The best advice he ever gave was "to be yourself and take care of family."
Funeral services will be conducted from the chapel of Rogers Funeral Home in South Pittsburg at 1PM Central Time on Wednesday, September 21, 2011, officiated by Rev. Carlton Harper and Rev. Cliff Hudson. Interment will be in Sequatchie Valley Memorial Gardens in Jasper, TN.
The Vinson family will receive friends at the funeral home on Tuesday, September 20, 2011 from 4-8PM Central Time.
Memorial contributions may be sent to Richard City Cumberland Presbyterian Church at 1706 Marion Avenue, South Pittsburg, TN 37380 or to the American Cancer Society at 6221 Shallowford Rd #102, Chattanooga, TN 37421-1972 www.cancer.org.