Walter Arnold Callaway

Walter Arnold Callaway, 80, of New Market, passed away on December 14, 2024, from lung cancer (everybody wants to know), old age, and too many twinkies. He loved farm life, dancing, the UT Volunteers, fishing, home-grown food, animals, John Wayne movies, sweets, and his family. Walter was born on March 24, 1944, in Jefferson City, TN. The family moved to Madison, TN when Walter was in elementary school. He was active in the Boy Scouts, school, and church. He was a 1962 graduate of Madison High School where he played football and was voted best-looking. As a teenager, Walter developed a love of rock and roll and R&B music. Along with this, his lifelong passion for dancing was born. He loved to dance except at a high school assembly with his younger sister, Alma, doing the twist. The Hugh-Baby Hop in Gallatin was one of his favorite spots for dancing on Saturday nights as well as Teen Town held at St. Joseph’s Catholic School on Gallatin Rd. Although Walter loved the dancing venues and socializing that the big city of Nashville offered his true love was the country and farm life. After moving to Madison, he would spend every summer and school break in New Market with Howard and Gladys Davis working on the farm. After high school, he attended the University of Tennessee for one year while trying to operate a dairy and fulfill other farm duties. At various times during his career as a farmer, he had dairy cattle, beef cattle, and hogs. He also grew tobacco, hay, wheat, and a large vegetable garden. He was instrumental in bringing the Dairy Herd Improvement Association to Jefferson County. With DHIA, he worked with various dairy farmers for over 25 years. He was also a member of the Farm Bureau and Tennessee Farmers Co-op. . Walter was a member of Nances Grove Baptist Church, he always joked that he had to much rhythm to have been born Baptist. Throughout his life Walter was an animal lover and outdoorsman. He had quite a variety and number of pets; dogs, cats, rabbits, a pheasant, a possum and a skunk that he came to find out had not been descented as the vet had claimed. He was especially close to several wonderful dogs during his life. He always loved to fish and hunt. He also enjoyed trapping small game such as raccoon, fox, mink and muskrats for a few years. He also enjoyed woodworking. In high school shop class, while other students were building basic projects such as a shelf or bookcase, Walter built a 14 ft boat. He built a gun rack with three different types of horns from cows. Several people made handsome offers for it over the years, but it was not for sale. He made end tables his mother and immediate family enjoyed in their homes for many years. Walter loved sweets. Cakes, cookies, candy, or pies could always be found at his house. He very much enjoyed Jayne’s wonderful home cooking. He would end each meal by giving her a kiss as his way of saying thank you. One of the most memorable things about Walter was his sense of humor. During holidays he and his brothers seem to always try to see who could solicit bigger laughs. Later in life he had accumulated such an inventory of jokes that he kept a list on a heavy piece of paper with only a couple of words of the punch line to recall the full story. With worn corners and different colors of ink, he added new jokes year after year. He would often jot down a few from the list on a note to keep in his pocket before a meeting or party. Some of his favorite jokes were what is now known as NSFW in online acronym vernacular, Not Safe For Work. They were often called off-color, dirty, inappropriate, or irreverent, but they were always funny when Walter told it. He was preceded in death by his parents, William Thomas Callaway and Ann Laura Arnold Callaway, and brother Tom Callaway. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Jayne, daughter Cindy Gibson (Scott), son Brad (Cindy), and grandchildren Jack Gibson of Dyersburg, Bridget Gibson, Joshua Callaway, and Jillian Callaway of Knoxville. He also leaves behind sisters Pam Cartwright of Fernandina Beach, FL, Alma Curtis (Ron)of Nicholsville, KY, brother John Callaway (Donna) of Huntsville, AL, and brother-in-law Doug White of Dandridge, TN. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Walter can be made to CARE animal rescue at PO Box 1971 Dandridge or www.carejeffersoncounty.com/donate. A lively celebration of life will be held at a later date. Fielden Funeral Home is honored to serve the Callaway family.

Walter Arnold Callaway

March 24, 1944 - December 14, 2024