Joel "Joey" Allen Wilson

Joel Allen “Joey” Wilson, age 61, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, October 8, 2022 of a massive heart attack. Joey was born in Maryville, Tennessee on May 28, 1961 to Allen “Chigger” and JoAnn Wilson. Beloved husband, son, father, son-in-law, brother-in-law, and friend, Joey had so much love for those he held dear to him. As a young man, Joey played baseball at Eagleton and was fortunate to have his father as his coach. His love of motorcycles began with dirt bikes which eventually turned into successful competitive racing. Off the track, Joey’s love of driving fast did result in his dad placing the car and motorcycle keys in a bowl on top of the refrigerator more times than he would admit. As a graduate of Heritage High School, Joey lettered in football and earned several belts in karate. Creatively, Joey was an amazing artist who won several art contests. His love of art progressed to a side career of custom painting Harley motorcycles, dune buggies, and cars. His ability to diagnose, repair, and build cars was legendary and he carried those talents well beyond his retirement. As one of the original residents of a house affectionately known as “The Barn,” Joey and his friends were known for some epic house parties. One of the most popular and highest attended parties was the “Save the Whales” gathering which is still remembered with hilarity by those who attended. As a lovingly creative husband, he and his wife Carol, began DIY projects which morphed into repurposing furniture, industrial art, and flipping houses. Joey was the “ultimate salesman” and in his career won numerous national awards as a Major National Account Manager with cellular giants US Cellular and Verizon. After his retirement from the world of wireless cellular and other pursuits, he and his wife enjoyed traveling, especially to the Caribbean. They were fortunate to visit: Exuma, Grand Bahama, Belize, Honduras, Roatan, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. In Mexico, they visited Cozumel and Costa Maya. On July 3, 2018, Joey and Carol were married in a beautiful sunset wedding on the beach in the West Indies on the island of Grenada.

Joey was preceded in death by his beloved parents, Allen Ross “Chigger” Wilson and JoAnn Coatney Wilson; maternal grandparents, Joe and Katherine Coatney; paternal grandparents, Clay and Cleo Wilson; best friends, Chris Cable and Ron Richardson.

He is survived by the love of his life, Carol Blankenship Wilson; his pride and joy, daughter, Megan Hyatt (Christian); father-in-law and mother-in-law, Harry T. and Jane J. Blankenship; sister-in-law, Kerri Blankenship Ward (Mark); beloved family friends, R.L. and Donna Dowdy, Raymond and Pat Vandaveer; life-long friends, Bryan White, Johnny Hembree, and Roy Shields; special cousin Cindy Coatney; and numerous aunts and cousins of the Wilson, Hayes, and Coatney families.

As per Joey’s wishes, there will be no funeral service. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.