Dorothy Ann Wallace Howell
Dorothy Ann “Dot” Wallace Howell was born on June 27, 1937, in Knox County to Homer Houston Wallace and Bessie May Hargis Wallace. She was the youngest of four children.
Dot was raised on the family home on Carden Road in Clinton, where she and her siblings, Clara, Homer Jr. and William, spent their days playing on the ridge behind their house and helping with the family’s large garden and farm animals. She walked to school across the old river bridge.
Dot graduated from Carson-Newman University and taught for a year at Clinton Senior High School before becoming the first female engineer in the Numerical Control Program at Y-12 for Union Carbide in Oak Ridge. Over her many years at the plant, her work evolved from mainframe card decks to computerized machine tool design. Unfortunately, Dot was exposed to toxins in the workplace that later affected her health.
She met her late husband, Billy James “Bill” Howell, through mutual friends at the plant. They fell deeply in love, and their marriage lasted 41 years until Bill’s death in 2010. For many years, they lived with Dot’s parents at the Carden Road home. Together they kept gardens and raised bountiful food, which they often shared with coworkers and friends.
Dot and Bill provided years of loving care for Dot’s parents, and after their passing, the couple moved to Mariner Point, where they gained many new friends. Dot later cared for Bill as he battled mesothelioma. She loved their cruise to Alaska so much that after his passing, she cruised to more destinations, including taking a trip around the world.
Dot was devoted to her faith and her church family at First Baptist Church of Clinton. She was active in the Timely Topics group, which her grandmother helped found in 1934, and served multiple terms as president. She cherished her many close friendships and connections with family across the country, and took daily joy in tending her flowers and plants, watching the birds, and caring for her pets, including her last dog, Zoe.
She was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; her sister, Clara Wallace McClure; brothers, Homer Houston Wallace Jr. and William James Wallace; and her grandparents, James Henry and Clara Leinart Wallace, and William Jesse and Carolina Keck Hargis.
She is survived by her sister-in-law, Julie Wehner Wallace of Ohio; and four far-flung but loving nieces, Wendy McClure of Washington, Laura McClure of New York, Nora Wallace of Kansas, and Lisa Wallace of Ohio. Dot will be deeply missed by her family and many friends.
Holley Gamble Funeral Home is proud to be serving the Howell family.
holleygamble.com.
