James Coy Anderson, age 77, of Waynesboro, Tennessee, passed from this life on Monday, August 28, 2023, at Maury Regional Hospital in Columbia. Coy was born in Waynesboro on November 14, 1945, to the late Walter Guilford “Doc” Anderson and Lottie Jewell Cooper, also of Waynesboro. Survivors include his wife, Betty Rains Anderson; daughters Lottie Jean Warren and her husband, Daryl; Bonnie Alice Butler and her husband, Cory; Jennie Ellen Harper; and Mary Lauren Garner and her husband, Rob; grandsons Cody Ryan Warren, Ryder Dwayne Butler, Case Anderson Butler, and James Paul Garner (coming in September); granddaughter ClairAnne Reece Workman; sister Buna Holt and her husband, Jerry; all of Waynesboro; brothers Joe Anderson and wife, Sharon, of Columbia, and Tim Anderson, of Waynesboro; brother-in-law, Jerry Whitten, of Collinwood; and several cousins, nieces and nephews, great-nieces and nephews, and friends. In addition to his parents, Coy was preceded in death by a sister, Brenda Whitten of Collinwood, a brother, Walter Guilford (Gil) Anderson, Jr., of Memphis, and a sister-in-law, Connie Anderson.
Coy graduated from Wayne County High School in 1963. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Secondary Education at UT Martin and later received his 30 hours post-M.Ed. from TSU. He used these credentials as a teacher, guidance counselor, principal, and football, basketball, and baseball coach at our local schools. He served on the Waynesboro City Commission and later as City Judge. In 1986, he was elected Wayne County Executive and served three terms. Coy joined the TN Army National Guard in 1963 and served on active duty during the Vietnam War. In 1992, he retired as First Sergeant of the HHC 194th Engineer Brigade, TNANG. In 2006, he became Director of South Central Human Resource Agency in Fayetteville, Tennessee. He retired in 2016. Having been a long-time member of the Waynesboro American Legion Post 130, he initiated the Bus Stop program at the Legion Hall for current and prospective members to enjoy morning coffee, breakfast, and fellowship. Coy was a member and elder of the Waynesboro Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He loved God, his family, people, history, and the USA.
Funeral services were held on Saturday, September 2, from 9:00 a.m. until service time at 11:00 a.m. with Casey Jones and Stan Horton officiating. Burial with military honors followed at Greenwood Cemetery East, which is just north of the church on the right. Shackelford Funeral Directors assisted the family.
Pallbearers were Ronnie Yeiser, Jasper McWilliams, Dustin Kelley, Ralph Hughes, III, Don Ridgeway, John Bucy, Herbert Helton, Colby Staggs, Johnny Ramirez and Fred Lawrence. Honorary pallbearers were members of the American Legion Post 130, HHC 194 EN BDE (T), 48th TN Infantry (Nixon’s), and WCHS Faculty 1999-2006.
The family appreciates the excellent care he received as a patient at Wayne Medical Center and EMTs.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Waynesboro American Legion Post 130, P.O. Box 81, Waynesboro, TN 38485, or the Butterfly Foundation, P.O. Box 212, Waynesboro, TN 38485.
