Robert William "Bill" Mottern

Robert W. (Bill) Mottern, age 91, passed away July 31, 2015 at his home, Shannondale, in Maryville, TN. Bill was graduated in 1941 from Science Hill High School and 1944 from East Tennessee State College in his native Johnson City, TN. Following college, he and his co-ed sweetheart, Betty Jane Larish of Jellico, TN, married, and started their more than 50 years odyssey as chemists in Oak Ridge, TN as a part of the Manhattan Project of WWII. Following VJ-Day and the winding down of activities there, Bill and Betty started collecting Zip Codes ranging from Fishkill and Beacon, NY to Washington State, to Killeen, TX to Las Vegas , NV, finally dropping anchor in Albuquerque, New Mexico where Bill retired from the Sandia National Laboratory in 1990 after 38 years' service. One of his most humbling experiences was as a member of the 1979 Team that was given permission to examine the Shroud of Turin in Turin, Italy where he was able to use his training as a neutron radiographer. This was the only activity that ranked above his love for bridge. He was preceded in death by his parents Robert Cleveland and Dora Wallace Mottern, Johnson City; his wife Betty; a brother John W. (Jack) Mottern and his wife, Joyce, Jamestown/Colfax, NC. Bill is survived by a brother, Thomas Cleveland (Tom) Mottern, sister-in-law Marie, recently of Maryville, TN and a host of nieces, nephews and cousins scattered throughout the country. No services are planned and his ashes will be interred as directed by his written instructions. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN or to another concern of your choice.