JOHN CHRISTOPHER CAMARATA (1948-2002)

John Camarata was born in Philadelphia on March 25, 1948 to Jasper and Betty Camarata. He died of a heart attack at Park West Hospital in Knoxville, TN on March 14, 2002.

In high school John was active in football and the Drama Club, appearing in several plays.

After graduation, he studied 2 years at Mansfield University in Mansfield, PA, before joining the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam conflict. Following his service, he attended Tennessee Wesleyan College where he was a staff photographer, and graduated in 1974.

After retiring from his work of many years with the Tennessee Valley Authority, he served as a faculty member at Tellico Plains High School. At the time of his death, he had been with the school for six years, teaching Computer Science, English, and GED classes. He was involved with Boy Scouts, had started a chess club, and was the computer expert on campus.

In the week following John’s death, the students and Faculty of Tellico Plains HS gathered to share memories of “Mr. C”:

“With a heart as big as Texas, he gave everything he had every day”

“When I felt sad or mad, Mr. C would make me laugh”

“John is a person we are all going to have some real big memories about”

John was survived by his wife of 27 years, Jenny (Webb), sons Bart, and Christopher (Julie), his parents, sisters Bobbi and Gina, brothers Paul and Jim, and many, many friends in Tennessee.

Services were held on Friday Mar 15, 2002 and burial followed on Saturday at McMinn Memory Gardens in Athens.

He and Jenny, who died in 2009, are buried side by side beneath a beautiful headstone.