COOKEVILLE — John Dudley Stites, long-time businessman in the Upper Cumberland
region and founder of J&S Construction Company, Inc., died peacefully at his
home on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2013, at 6:11 a.m., on the family farm, J&S
Farms.
He was with his wife of 68 years, Evelyne Ruth Flatt Stites and
his three children and their spouses.
He is survived by his wife; three
children, John D. Stites II and wife Rosemary Tillman Stites, James Richard
(Jack) Stites and his wife Mary Alice Norris Stites and Sarah Jane Stites
Davidson and her husband Donald Houston (Donnie) Davidson. Mr. Stites and his
wife have 11 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by
his nephew, James E. (Jimmy) French of Franklin.
Mr. Stites was a member
of Collegeside Church of Christ and is best remembered for his simple teaching
methods, whether in church or on the farm.
John Stites was born on Aug.
23, 1926, in Algood to the late Clarence Elsworth Stites and Fannie Hampton
Stites. He had one sister, the late Sarah Stites French of Nashville.
Upon graduation from Algood High School, he served in the Navy at Guam
during World War II. Upon his honorable discharge from the service, he attended
Tennessee Tech, but left school to join the family business, Builders Supply
Company, in 1947, which was started by his father, Patrick Elsworth Stites and a
partner, H.T. Pointer, also of Algood. While at Builders Supply Company, John
Stites designed and built the first ready mix concrete plant and introduced the
first ready mix concrete trucks to the area. He introduced the first cash and
carry lumber yard, initially selling lumber and building materials from railroad
cars, because he had not yet constructed a building to house his inventory.
In 1957, Mr. Stites founded J&S Construction Company as a small
residential construction firm, and the enterprise has grown to be one of the
largest construction firms in the Upper Cumberland region.
Mr. Stites
built and managed, with his partners, the first nursing home in the Upper
Cumberland area. He and his brother-in-law, Wesley Flatt Jr., built Ironwood
Golf Course, the first public, 18-hole golf course in Putnam County. Always the
inventor, he designed a workshop at his farm, J&S Farms, where he used
lumber from the family farm to construct hope chests for his
great-granddaughters and steamer trunks for his great-grandsons. He also made
cedar chests for his grandchildren. Ma and PaPa Stites were perhaps best known
for their July 4th pig roast that began in 1962, and occurs each year on July
4th with family and friends.
John Stites gave back to the community in
many ways, including being one of the founding members of the Cookeville Country
Club and the Cookeville Jaycees. He was Scoutmaster of Boy Scout troop 156 for
more than a decade, and was responsible for many young men reaching the rank of
Eagle, including his two sons and one grandson, Joshua Norris
Stites.
Visitation with the family is scheduled for today, Sunday, Aug.
11, at CLC of Collegeside Church of Christ, from 5-8 p.m., and Monday afternoon,
Aug. 12, from 1 p.m. untill the time of the funeral.
Funeral services
for John Dudley Stites will be Monday afternoon, Aug. 12, at 3 p.m. at
Collegeside Church of Christ. Burial will be in Algood City Cemetery immediately
following the services.
Pallbearers will be the
grandchildren.
Brother Joe Roberts, minister at Collegeside Church of
Christ, will officiate at the services.
