A funeral Mass for Joseph Vincent Sprouls was held on Dec. 15 at St. Joseph Church in Norris, with Father Richard Armstrong serving as celebrant.
Mr. Sprouls, who was 96, was born April 5, 1925, in Jersey City, N.J. to Joseph and Gertrude Pecinich Sprouls.
Mr. Sprouls joined the U.S. Navy in 1943 and served aboard the USS Sproston in the Aleutian Islands and the South Pacific. After serving in the Navy, he worked for many years as a linotype operator in the New York City area. While living in New Jersey, Mr. Sprouls learned carpentry and wood-working. He later volunteered these skills for St. Joseph Church, the Lenoir Museum, and other organizations. He also created furniture for his family and frames for his wife’s paintings, which were exhibited in New Jersey, New York, and Tennessee.
Mr. Sprouls also served on the Norris Planning Board for several years.
He was married for 62 years to Patricia Mertig Sprouls from 1948 until her death in 2011. He is survived his son Timothy Sprouls and partner Anne McLaughlin of Rhode Island and daughter Cynthia and her husband Charles Edrington of Norris. He is also survived by four grandchildren, Cody Edrington and his wife Amber of Knoxville, Susan Edrington Iglehart and her husband Jake Iglehart of Knoxville, Marissa Sprouls of Connecticut, and Zoe Sprouls of Massachusetts. He also leaves four great-grandchildren, Joseph and Claire Iglehart and Crosby and Corinne Edrington all of Knoxville.
