Joseph Tucker Huntsman Sr.

February 15, 1940 – June 26, 2026

Joseph Tucker Huntsman, the second child of Mr. Joel Butler and Mrs. Dorothy Meyers Huntsman, was born on February 15, 1940, in Pensacola, Florida. Due to his father’s active military service, Joe was raised in Sacramento, California. That said, his father’s family roots were in Bulls Gap, Tennessee, which led Joe to East Tennessee State University where he played football. An overdue library book led him to Jean, his bride of over 64 years. Joe then set his sights on pharmacy school at the University of Tennessee in Memphis. He always said that if his good friend Oscar Hicks could succeed in pharmacy school, he could too.

After pharmacy school, Joe and Jean moved to Morristown, Tennessee, in a U-Haul shared with their close friends, Willie and Nancy Eversole. Joe and Jean bought a white house on a hill and have called it home for the last fifty-four years. There they raised their four children, were faithful members of First Baptist Church, and became pillars of their community.

Joe did not in any way have a picket-fence upbringing. He had four fathers and a highly unstable childhood. His first father, Joel, was killed in action aboard the USS Randolph at the end of WW2 when Joe was just five years old. If you know Joe, you have heard stories about his father’s bravery. Three stepfathers followed, the first two of which were abusive. A father figure did not come into his life until his college years when his mother married Hugh Nickles. Also, Joel’s brother and Joe’s Uncle Robert M. Huntsman of Johnson City gave Joe a home during his time at ETSU. His lack of a father during his childhood years is why the song “Cats in the Cradle” was so deeply meaningful to him. It was Joe’s reminder to be the best father he could be to his own children.

Joe was a rare diamond in the rough. He gave his life to Jesus at the young age of 10 at a revival meeting, but due to the lack of a father in his life, he continued to struggle: leather jacket, membership in a motorcycle gang, and tough as nails. Jean melted all of that (although the motorcycles hung around). If you talk to anyone who knew Joe, they will tell you about his love for Jesus — especially his children, who watched him model Christ’s sacrificial love day after day.

Jean was the one true love of Joe’s life. They secretly eloped at the ages of 21 and 19 and have done life together since. When Joe suffered a cerebral aneurysm in 1979, Jean was by his side. She took over the management of Joe’s multiple businesses for six years, during which time Joe slowly healed. They came out stronger together and have remained steadfast soulmates since.

Stories of Joe’s deep-seated compassion for those around him are legendary, and he always put the needs of others before himself. One day Jean came home to find Joe at their kitchen table, sharing Christ with a man who had robbed him at gunpoint at his pharmacy a week earlier. Due to his very poor upbringing, he always had a soft spot for walking alongside and helping those less fortunate, and he was generous beyond measure. He would give anything of his — or of yours, if you weren’t careful — away to anyone in need if he thought it could help. He often brought strangers home to provide a place to sleep.

Long before the days of cell phones, Joe would often run late getting home from his work in Bean Station. Jean might worry, but knew from experience that Joe had a good reason and was probably helping someone: delivering medications to a patient, helping a farmer get his cow out of the creek, stitching a dog that had been gored by a bull, helping someone whose car had broken down on the side of the road, or medicating a monkey in need (these are true stories).

Joe loved the outdoors and regularly took his family on adventure trips: camping at Indian Camp Creek in Cosby, rafting down the Snake River in Wyoming, hiking in the Smoky Mountains, and creating a memorable outing in Canada where the family had to portage a boat to reach their destination. Eventually Joe bought a “farm” in Grainger County with Dr. Jim Wohlwend, where they regularly hosted church gatherings, events, and raised donkeys and goats. The “farm” scratched his itch and became a special place where he would later take his family and grandkids four-wheeling, trout fishing, tractor-riding, and for overnight camping trips.

Joe was a man who everyone in the community looked up to and knew they could rely upon. As an active entrepreneur, he owned multiple pharmacies. For over 20 years, he served patients in Grainger County as the owner of Bean Station Drugs. He also owned Roberts & Turner Drugs in the 1970s, which is one of the oldest continuously operated businesses in Morristown and one of the oldest pharmacies in Tennessee (founded in 1867). In the late 1970s, he moved this pharmacy to Sky City where it became College Park Pharmacy; it is now owned by his son and pharmacist Chad Huntsman and is still serving patients today. He also owned Sneedville Drug, was a founding partner in FountainRx along with his son Joe Jr., and he founded and ran a multitude of other businesses. Joe had a heart for public service and was a Hamblen County Commissioner for the last eleven years.

Joe’s full-throttle approach to life made him a bit of a bionic man. He had an ankle replacement, three knee replacements, two rotator cuff surgeries, two carpal tunnel surgeries, and 17 broken ribs — all after turning 70. His earlier injuries and mishaps are too many to list. He had a zest for life that was contagious to those around him; however, the injuries stayed mostly with Joe. In their later years, Joe and Jean traveled extensively with their close friends, Oscar and Sandy Hicks.

More than anything, Joe loved well because he knew the truest form of love in his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He read the Bible too many times to count, listening to it first on cassette tapes before moving to an iPhone. He listened anywhere and anytime he could — when he was in the car, sitting outside, or walking around the neighborhood. He would start in Genesis and go to Revelation, then start all over again. When asked to name his favorite Bible story, he often recalled Joshua, Gideon, Nehemiah, and Isaiah, but would always conclude that the greatest story of all time is Jesus hanging on a cross and then rising again on the third day to redeem mankind from sin and reconcile them with the Father in eternal life. His favorite Scripture was Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Joe’s children note that he personified Matthew 25:35-40: “’For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”

Joe’s favorite parting words for his children and grandchildren (who called him Papa Grand) were: “You know I love you, and I’d do anything in the world for you.” His family all knew that this was true. Joe lived an extraordinary life, honoring God and loving his family. Their faith in Christ is his greatest legacy.

The family is immensely grateful to God that, through Jesus’s death and resurrection, death was conquered and a way made back to God. The family also thanks our many dear friends and loved ones for the overwhelming outpouring of love, support, visits, meals, stories, and memories shared during Joe’s battle with cancer. The family would like to give a special thanks to Smoky Mountain Home Health & Hospice and his primary nurse Aaron Smith, and to his caregivers Joan Hurd and Deborah Martin for their love, care, concern and faithfulness.

Joe is predeceased by his parents Joel and Dorothy Huntsman, and his sisters, Jolene Price and Joyce Morgan.

Joe is survived by his wife of 64 years, Jean and their four children: daughter Sharon Roberts (Dr. Shane Roberts), grandson Shane Jr. (Ashlyn), greatgrandchildren Vivian and Jackson, grandson Christopher Tate, granddaughter Emma Catherine, and grandson Joseph Pullen (Faith); son Joseph Tucker Huntsman, Jr. (Eva), granddaughter Grace Sylvia, granddaughter Audrey Hope, grandchild Cara Kate, and god-grandson Caleb Botchway (Amelia); son Robert Wallace Huntsman (Jennifer), granddaughter Emily Rose, and step granddaughter Lauryn Banner; son Chad Barclay Huntsman (Marsha) and granddaughters Hannah Lynne and Olivia Jean; sister Betty Roberton.

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Funeral Details

Visitation is from 3:30 pm to 7:30 pm on Wednesday, July 1, 2026.

A service celebrating Joe’s life will follow at 7:30 pm.

First Baptist Morristown Sanctuary

504 West Main St

Morristown, TN 37814

The burial will be held on July 2, 2026, at 11:00 am. Family and friends are invited to gather at First Baptist Church by 10:15 am to form a processional. The motorcade will leave for Hamblen Memorial Gardens at 10:30 am.

Hamblen Memory Gardens

5421 East Andrew Johnson Highway

Morristown, TN 37814

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to:

God’s Warehouse

3441 W Andrew Johnson Highway

Morristown, TN 37814

or

First Baptist Church Benevolence Fund

504 West Main St

Morristown, TN 37814