Juanita F. Campbell

Juanita F. Campbell of Knoxville, Tennessee, took her final breaths on February 4, 2026, surrounded by her husband Ronald Campbell and children Bryan Campbell and Eileen Campbell-Reed and son-in-law Lynn Reed. We are deeply grateful for her life, her love, and her powerful spirit as a survivor. Her final weeks were quiet and peaceful, surrounded by family and friends, as her body slowly wound down after years of numerous health challenges. Juanita was a one-of-a-kind, larger-than-life figure to all the people she knew, loved, and inspired.

Born January 24, 1943, in Louisville, Kentucky to parents Joe and Juanita Thomas, she grew up with brothers Joe and John Thomas. Juanita and her siblings enjoyed friendship across many miles, throughout the years, bonded by a shared sense of humor and mutual support to rise above life’s challenges.

Juanita attended the University of Louisville where she met her husband, Ron. They married on April 12, 1963, and moved to Oslo, Norway, for Ron’s first Air Force assignment. During three years in Norway, Juanita gave birth to her daughter, Eileen. In 1966 Juanita and Ron moved to Glasgow Air Force base in Montana where Juanita became a Mary Kay Cosmetics consultant, embarking on a lifelong career. Soon after Juanita and Ron’s next move to Knoxville, Tennessee, she gave birth to her son, Bryan. Juanita attended countless sporting events, planned and chaperoned church trips, and participated in community activities with enthusiastic support for her spouse, children, and grandchildren.

Juanita lived in Knoxville for five more decades. She built an amazing professional career, and she made countless friends in community and church, encouraging people, welcoming them in her home, and beautifying everything she touched. She was the first woman elected as a deacon by her congregation in 2000, and she taught, cared for, and mentored hundreds of teens and adults in faith and love. As a Mary Kay director, Juanita helped women start their own successful businesses, drove pink cars, and won countless prizes and accolades. Yet the real heart of the work was her joy in connecting with people and providing a great life for her family.

Juanita achieved remarkable success despite having to survive in an environment filled daily with trauma. As an adult she courageously faced the harms of her childhood, working through the grief and pain and engaging art and creative writing to reframe meaning in her life. Her faith in God, her strong spirit, and her genuine hospitality and encouragement to everyone she met, inspired countless people. Juanita was a three-time cancer survivor. She faced each health challenge with honesty, and she learned to “celebrate the moment” whenever she could. Her body eventually wound down, yet her spirit and her heart stayed strong to the very end.

Juanita is survived by her husband, Ron; her daughter Eileen Campbell-Reed, son-in-law Lynn Reed, and granddaughter, Marissa Reed, (Nashville, TN); her son Bryan Campbell (Knoxville), and granddaughters Natalie (Alexandria, VA) and Olivia Campbell (Nashville, TN); her brother John Thomas and sister-in-law Therese Thomas; sister-in-law Judy Thomas; and sister-in-law Martha Campbell (all of Louisville, KY); as well as seven nieces and nephews and their families.

A funeral celebrating Juanita’s life will take place on Saturday, February 14, at 11 o’clock in the morning at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 6500 S Northshore Drive, Knoxville. A reception will follow in the fellowship hall. Entombment will take place at 3 o’clock in the afternoon at Berry Highland Memorial Mausoleum, 4401 Sutherland Avenue, Knoxville.

To honor Juanita’s life, you may donate to her church, Westminster Presbyterian (https://www.wpcknox.org/), the Sexual Assault Crisis Center of East Tennessee (https://mcnabbfoundation.org/donate/), or the Cancer Support Community of East Tennessee (http://www.cancersupportet.org/).