TDOT Memorial Marker

On September 24, 2008, the Tennessee Department of Transportation, under the direction of Governor Phil Bredesen and Commissioner Gerald Nicely, unveiled a memorial marker to honor state highway workers killed in the line of duty.
The granite marker is located at the Smith County Rest Area along Interstate 40. It is the only rest area in Tennessee accessible to motorists from both sides of the interstate.
The names etched on both sides the marker represent the TDOT men and women killed in the line of duty since 1948, when worker fatalities were first documented by the state.
The marker dedication reads, “In memory of Tennessee Department of Transportation employees who lost their lives building and maintaining our transportation system since 1948,” followed by the names of the fallen workers and the words, “The citizens of Tennessee are indebted and forever grateful for their service.”
As of April 2023, the marker bears the names of the following Tennessee Department of Transportation workers, totaling 113 TDOT lives lost.
Joe D. Dabbs
Region 3
October 1949 (specific date unknown)
H.E. Crowe
Region 4
May 25, 1950
Oscar W. Heck
Region 1
April 14, 1952
William A. Eubank
Region 3
May 12, 1952
C. M. Dunaway
Region 4
July 28, 1952
Roy E. Crutcher
Region 3
March 4, 1952
W. F. Rouse
Region 4
May 29, 1953
Arthur D. Greener
Region 4
June 29, 1953
Roy C. Holmes
Region 4
November 13, 1953
Arnold R. Lee
Region 1
April 12, 1954
Arthur Godsey
Region 1
August 19, 1954
W. C. Butner
Region 4
November 19, 1954
S. D. Newman
Region 2
May 13, 1955
George Grove
Region 2
January 10, 1956
Charles J. Pursley
Region 2
April 27, 1956
Clarence E. Swanner
Region 1
October 15, 1957
W. E. Moore
Region 2
June 9, 1958
James F. Hall
Region 4
October 21, 1958
Hix P. Lewis
Region 3
June 3, 1959
James F. Hicks
Region 4
June 9, 1959
Charles A. Bailey
Region 1
December 3, 1959
Eldy Byford
Region 2
August 2, 1960
Thomas F. Garren
Region 1
August 15, 1960
Ralph Smith
Region 1
March 6, 1961
William D. Robinson
Region 3
August 22, 1961
Guy A. Stephens
Region 4
May 22, 1962
George A. Knight
Region 1
April 18, 1963
H. A. Shiflett
Region 2
August 19, 1963
James W. Duncan
Region 4
August 21, 1963
Ben F. Simmons
Region 4
October 4, 1963
Wallace P. Burnett
Region 4
March 30, 1964
Ross P. Southerland
Region 1
March 31, 1964
John A. Carroll
Region 3
April 2, 1964
Robert S. Neese
Region 2
September 15, 1964
H. L. Nease
Region 3
September 28, 1964
Clarence A. Alsup
Region 4
October 15, 1964
Dorris W. Hyde
Headquarters
August 13, 1965
W. H. Smith
Region 4
October 12, 1965
James T. Austin
Region 3
November 1, 1965
Rudolph A. Brown
Region 2
April 6, 1966
Earl W. Lannom
Region 3
May 7, 1966
Eugene E. Hardison
Region 3
May 10, 1966
Anthony C. McRay, Jr
Region 4
April 17, 1967
Jim A. Damron
Region 4
August 9, 1967
Cecil Vickers
Region 4
August 9, 1967
James Walter Cromwell
Region 1
April 8, 1968
Billy W. Thompson
Region 4
May 22, 1968
James E. Williams
Region 2
June 11, 1968
Thurman Anderson
Region 2
December 2, 1968
Harvey L. Condra
Region 2
October 29, 1969
Roy F. Thompson
Region 4
July 8, 1970
Curtis D. Hicks
Region 4
July 30, 1970
Earnest H. Jones
Region 3
August 4, 1970
Lebby W. McCulley
Region 4
August 5, 1970
Lofton E. Gately
Region 4
August 19, 1970
L. U. Moore
Region 4
November 23, 1970
Win C. Shanks
Region 3
March 18, 1971
Floyd H. Miller
Region 2
August 1, 1971
Raymond E. Wright
Region 1
January 2, 1972
James E. Garner
Region 2
February 22, 1972
John O. McDivitt
Region 4
July 25, 1972
Raymond J. Moredock
Headquarters
August 4, 1972
W. Z. Travis
Region 3
August 29, 1972
Jasper W. Young, Sr
Region 3
January 24, 1973
Dave Lehman, Jr
Region 3
February 27, 1973
James H. Russell
Region 2
March 16, 1973
Thomas B. Wilson
Region 4
May 14, 1973
Richard W. Gammon
Headquarters
February 13, 1975
Harold J. Austin
Region 2
June 6, 1975
James R. Simpson
Region 2
February 2, 1977
Johnnie J. Cain
Region 2
May 11, 1977
Billy C. Griffin
Region 3
June 21, 1977
James E. Lyons
Region 2
October 17, 1977
Mark D. Doughten
Region 4
April 28, 1978
Trulen L. Brookshire
Region 1
May 18, 1978
Jesse W. Jackson
Region 2
August 7, 1979
James R. Futrell
Region 3
November 26, 1979
L. R. Masengil
Region 2
May 28, 1980
Charles E. Marley
Region 1
August 18, 1981
David A. Welch
Region 1
December 9, 1982
Norris Cope, Jr
Region 2
July 7, 1983
Michael R. Austin
Headquarters
January 9, 1984
Wesley H. Grimes
Region 4
May 11, 1984
J. T. Tanner
Region 4
July 31, 1984
J. R. Wiser
Region 3
October 31, 1984
Dewey A. Paschall
Region 4
April 15, 1985
Clyde V. Lane
Region 4
August 5, 1985
A. T. Chadwell, Jr
Region 3
August 29, 1986
Lloyd G. Cherry
Region 3
April 10, 1987
Carl L. McGinnis
Region 1
June 17, 1987
Ronald K. Brown
Region 2
September 7, 1988
Franklin Powell, Sr
Region 4
September 15, 1988
Steven W. Barton
Region 1
August 8, 1989
Don W. Howell
Headquarters
May 30, 1990
Michael A. Menzies
Region 4
August 2, 1990
Michael C. Farley
Region 3
August 30, 1991
G. G. Cortner
Region 2
October 16, 1991
Joe E. Smith
Region 4
April 9, 1992
Robert J. Pendergrass
Region 2
June 2, 1992
Benny H. Householder
Region 1
September 16, 1992
James R. Dunaway
Region 3
July 11, 1995
Sherman D. Payne
Region 4
December 12, 1997
Charles E. Greer
Region 4
July 7, 1999
James E. McNeese
Regin 3
February 8, 2000
Paul Herron
Region 2
October 18, 2000
Robert W. Fish, Jr
Region 4
July 1, 2005
Robert Nowicki
Region 4
June 20, 2011
Michael E. Dalton, Sr
Region 4
September 8, 2011
Scott Jones
Region 4
August 14, 2013
David Younger
Region 3
April 28, 2016
James "Pee Wee" Hopkins
Region 4
July 27, 2016
James "J.R." Rogers
Region 3
December 28, 2016
Trent Johnston
Region 4
September 30, 2022
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