Roswell Rhea Browder

Roswell Rhea Browder, born December 2, 1913 in the Wheat Community of Roane County, Tennessee passed away peacefully at his beloved home in Harriman on September 12, 2011 at the age of 97. He was preceded in death by his parents, Margaret Mae Billingsly Browder and William Hamilton Browder, brothers John Franklin Browder, William Hamilton Browder, Joseph Houston Browder, Edward Carmack Browder and George Wade Browder, sisters, Mary B. Burnett, Lula Maude (Judy) B. Weigel, Margaret (Peggy) B. Stegall Arnold. He was a longtime businessman, sportsman and avid boater. Mr. Browder was a descendant of three pioneer East Tennessee families, Browder, Byrd and Gallaher. They were landowners in Roane County's Wheat community, which was purchased by the government for the top-secret Manhattan Project that built the world's first atomic bomb. Mr. Browder enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in 1942 and was being shipped to Europe when those atomic bombs were used against Japan and World War II ended. Mr. Browder and his brothers, Ed and Joe, founded Harriman Oil Co. in the 1930s, and at one time they were the largest Shell Oil distributor in Tennessee. During World War II, one of their service stations in Oak Ridge called the Vermont Gateway Shell Station was featured on the front of Look magazine because it was selling more gas a day than any other gas station in the U.S. They later launched the Rocky Top Markets convenience store chain that has now grown to include more than 40 stores. The Browder brothers also started other businesses, including East Tennessee Motor Co. in Knoxville and Harriman, and East Tennessee Truck in Knoxville and Central Florida Oil Co. in Ocala, Florida. Active in the Democratic Party, he was honored to be the only person to serve three terms on the Tennessee Game and Fish Commission, now called Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. He served under Governor Buford Ellington and Governor Ned Ray McWherter. Mr. Browder was instrumental in the formation of the 53,000-acre Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area in Campbell and Scott counties. He also served many years on the Tennessee Boating Safety Advisory Board and was a member of the Fort Loudon Yacht Club. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church, a Shriner and a Mason. He is survived by his children Dorothy Jane Browder William Rhea (Bill) Browder and wife Debbie Debra B. Rutledge and husband David Carol Ann B. Wheeler and husband Ed Edward Carmack Browder Christopher Rhea Browder Grandchildren, Brittany Rhea Browder & Juli Alison Browder A special thank you to dear friend Dorothy and loving care givers who surrounded him with love and devotion. Mr. Browder lived a wonderful and full life and will be missed by all who knew him. The family will receive friends from 12 noon to 1 PM Friday at Kyker Funeral Home in Harriman. Graveside service 2 PM Friday at Gallaher Cemetery. . In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Roane State Community College.

Roswell Rhea Browder

December 2, 1913 - September 12, 2011