Dr. John Stephenson Powers, Jr

BOLD PRINT: Dr. John Stephenson Powers, Jr. passed away on July 7th. Dr. Powers was 93 years old. He was born in Harlan Kentucky on December 18, 1914, the son John Stephenson Powers, Sr. and Elizabeth Richardson Powers. The family moved from Harlan to Johnson City Tennessee several years before the Great Depression. In Johnson City John Powers, Sr. became a wealthy merchant, only to lose everything during the great depression. The family was forced to move to his mother's farmstead in Church Hill Tennessee. This change in fortune had a big impact on young John Powers and led him to decide to become a doctor as he saw it as a "depression proof" profession. It also gave him a great deal of sympathy for the plight of those less fortunate, as his own family had experienced such misfortunes. Upon graduating from High School in Kingsport he went to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and later to the UT School of Medicine in Memphis, Tennessee. At the start of World War II he enlisted in the Army as a doctor in the Medical Corps and saw service in North Africa and Italy. After the war he met his beloved wife Evelyn on a bus route between Knoxville and Kingsport that both were taking to visit their families. Dr. Powers and Evelyn Barrett were married on February 3rd 1945 and they eventually settled permanently in Kingsport where Dr. Powers established a private medical group specializing in internal medicine and cardiology. Throughout his many years of medical practice, Dr. Powers was known for his great compassion and genuine concern for his patients.

Dr. Powers was among the first physicians introducing modern advances in cardiovascular medicine and cancer chemotherapy in the Kingsport area. He provided extensive medical services at Holston Valley Community Hospital where over the years he provided training and numerous other services on behalf of the hospital and served as Chief of Staff in 1953.

He is survived by two daughters, Sally Powers, San Diego, CA; Elizabeth Powers, Los Angeles, CA; three sons, John S. Powers III, Fairfax, VA; Andrew Powers and wife Carol, Cortlandt Manor, NY; Guy Powers and wife Yan, Houston, TX; two grandsons and five granddaughters; several nieces and nephews.

A family graveside service will be 2:15 p.m. Friday at Oak Hill Memorial Park.

A memorial service will be conducted at 3:00 p.m. Friday at First Presbyterian Church with Rev. L. Craig Foster officiating.

The family will receive friends immediately following the memorial service at the church.