John B. Olvey, age 70 of Guntersville, Al passed away on December 3, 2012 after a courageous lengthy battle with cancer. He lived in Guntersville at The Lodge for more than ten years after living in Fairfield, Al for most of his life. John was born on September 1, 1942 in Fairfield Alabama. He was preceded in death by his parents: John B. Olvey, Sr. and Mary Etta Yerby Olvey. John was a very talented person with great skill in painting particularly portraits. He developed a special interest in the Walton’s series on television and was instrumental in providing many artifacts on the Walton’s for the Walton museum in Schyler/Loving, Virginia. He was able to travel to Hollywood on several occasions and meet many of the main characters in person. John still has many items- some of significant value-remaining on display at the museum. He particularly enjoyed and had a real talent for painting portraits of the central characters in the Walton’s TV Series. In his youth, John was a very good softball pitcher in an era of excellent fast pitch teams. He also managed a number of female softball teams who were of very high quality and competitive with the best of teams on the times. John also brought “The King and His Court” featuring Eddie Feignor to Birmingham on numerous occasions. The King would sometimes strike out batters pitching from second base blindfolded. John was a U.S. Army veteran who retired after becoming disabled while serving on active duty. He worked for many years as a journeyman ironworker working out of the Local Ironworkers Union. In his later career, John worked for quite a few years at the Coke Works at the Fairfield Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the American Legion. We are thankful for the compassionate care he recieved form many dedicated professionals. Special thanks to Dr. Mahn Dang and their staff of Huntsville Hospital, Dr. Payne of Marshall Medical Center, Marshall County Home Care, Marshall County Hospice, Special Caregivers Ann Rainwater, Lisa Martin, and Martha Martin. Gwen Holcomb and Susan Jones were just like younger sisters to John. John was a Christian and made his peace with the Lord quite some time before his death. John was a member of Forest Hills Baptist Church and particularly enjoyed helping with Vacation Bible School. He is survived by his sister Jayne O. Hornsby (Bill); his nephews, William M. Hornsby Jr. (Debi), and Mark A. Hornsby (Lori) and Mark’s children, Jakob, Jillian and Jaymie. There will be a graveside service on Thursday, December 6 at 2pm at Elmwood Cemetery with visitation beginning at 1 pm at Elmwood Chapel. Reverend Al Geise will be officiating.
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