| Sources |
- [S52] Miller Funeral Home, (http://www.millerfuneralhome.org), 12 Nov 2010.
(February 9, 1971 - November 12, 2010)
Heather Renee Barger, age 39, of Townsend went to be with her Lord on Friday, November 12, 2010 at her home. She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Fred and Aileen Barger and William Wallace and Betty Bender; great-grandmothers, Maude Reed and Opal Willis; great-aunt and great-uncle, Kate and Jim Willis; and aunt, Brenda Jenkins. She is survived by her sons, Josh and Will McClanahan; mother and step-father, Linda and James Cooper; father and step-mother, Fred Jr. and Marta Barger; sisters and brothers-in-law, Kelly and Allen Parker and Christa and Stuart Jones; aunt and uncle, Cheryl and Alvah Bible; niece and nephews, Meagan, Joel, Hank; cousins, Shelley Dewey, Allan Bible, Julie Sitzler, Jason Jenkins, Susan Farmer; step-grandfather, Phillip Bender; and great-uncle and great-aunt, Eugene and Lacigale Willis; and a host of other family and friends. In lieu of flowers, please make memorial donations to Gilda’s Club Nashville, 1707 Division Street Nashville, TN 37203. Funeral service will be held at 7:00 PM Monday, November 15, 2010 at Tuckaleechee Primitive Baptist Church, with Elder J.B. Huskey officiating. The interment will be held at 11:00 AM Tuesday at the church cemetery. The family will receive friends from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM Monday at Tuckaleechee Primitive Baptist Church. Arrangements by Miller Funeral Home, Maryville. (865) 982-6041 www.millerfuneralhome.org
- [S27] The Daily Times, http://www.thedailytimes.com/, (Blount County, Tennessee), 16 Oct 2011.
Lighting the way: Community event pays tribute to victims, raises hope for others
By Melanie Tucker | (melt@thedailytimes.com)
A battle with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) was fought bravely by a Townsend mother who left behind two teenage sons and a host of family and friends who miss her every day.
Her name is Heather Barger McClanahan, a 1989 graduate of Heritage High School, mother to William and Josh, daughter to Linda Cooper and stepfather James Cooper and dad Fred Barger, friend to so many others. She was diagnosed with AML in January of 2009. She underwent a bone marrow transplant from one of her sisters. In the end, this terrible blood cancer that has taken so many others took her, too.
But on Oct. 27, Heather’s family will gather at Circle Park on the University of Tennessee campus to honor her memory and her bravery along with hundreds of others like them. They will be part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Walk.
Cooper, who resides in Townsend, remembers the day her daughter found out what was wrong with her after almost passing out at home. McClanahan was about to go to work at Dollar General in Townsend when she fell ill. Cooper took her to the ER where blood work was done.
“She was in the hospital for the next 49 days,” Cooper said. “She never left there. She got pneumonia.”
After McClanahan recovered, she was released. The bone marrow transplant from sister Christa Jones was performed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in June. Unfortunately, this leukemia patient remained in remission only 80 days.
Doctors had decided they would try a second bone marrow transplant but McClanahan never got strong enough to go through with it. She passed away on Nov. 12 of last year.
AML is a rare form of cancer that affects white blood cells formed in the bone marrow. The white blood cells reproduce abnormal cells.
Cooper said she received some information recently from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society about Light the Night. She has recruited several family members and friends, including McClanahan’s two sons, William and Josh, McClanahan’s sisters, Kelly Parker and Christa Jones, friends Karen Potter and Sabrina Cash. Others will probably join in as well.
“I am looking forward to it,” Cooper said. “It will be a good experience but also a tearful one.”
Cooper saw the strength her daughter possessed throughout the horrible ordeal. McClanahan was never alone one day of those 22 months, her mother said. “We never left her side.”
The Light The Night Walk will be a way for Cooper and those who knew and loved McClanahan to honor her memory and do their part to raise money in the hopes of one day finding a cure. They will be part of a huge crowd of supporters who will be carrying illuminated balloons.
The money will go to support the work of researchers in their search for improved therapies and cures for leukemia, lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and myeloma. This is the 10th annual event to be held in Knoxville. Light the Nights are held across the country.
This has been something tough to deal with for Cooper. In addition to losing her daughter, she has lost her mother, father and twin sister to cancer within the last three years.
We all need to do our part to support organizations like the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society so future generations can be spared the tragedy of disease, this mom said.
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
Groom's Name Bride's First Name Bride's Maiden Name County Date of Marriage File #
MCCLANAHAN RICHARD L HEATHER R [NOT GIVEN] BLOUNT 06-07-1991 24126
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