TOP PHOTO: Jack Reynolds and his wife Mary Lou are recognized at center field on dedication night of John T. “Jack” Reynolds Field August 27, 2021. (PHOTO COURTESY OF WLAF’S PAT PEBLEY)

LAFOLLETTE, TN (SPECIAL TO WLAF) – John T. “Jack” Reynolds will be laid to rest this morning at Woodlawn Cemetery. Today, Dewayne Baird, a long time employee of Peoples Bank of the South, where Reynolds invested 68 years of his life, shares some thoughts about Mr. Reynolds as well as the naming of the new Campbell County High football field in his honor.

About a year before they actually named the field in honor of Mr. Reynolds, I sat down with David (Reynolds) and was discussing the turf field and the money that we needed to raise and I told him at that time that since we were putting in a new field that it needed a new name. I told David that I would like to name the field after Mr. Reynolds. David was very appreciative, and we agreed to not tell Mr. Reynolds in case things didn’t work out. That kind of started the ground work on the turf. We had a lot of in-kind work donated, and we couldn’t have done it without those guys. David started reaching out to other people that might be able to help with monetary donations and told them that the school system may name the field in honor of Mr. Reynolds, and they all were excited about the idea and were very supportive, and showed it by their donations.

The day that they named the field in honor of Mr. Reynolds is a day that I will never forget. I had spoken to David earlier and told him that the school board was voting on it, and we had decided we wanted to surprise him if they voted yes. After the vote came in, I called David and told him the news. They were eating, and he decided that we would just take him up there and show him the field because he had not seen it yet.

We got up there and got him and Mrs. Reynolds on the field and as he looked around the field he was just taken away by how nice it looked. As we stood there, Johnny Byrge, Chairman of the Board of Education, and I delivered the news to Mr. Reynolds that he was standing on John T. “Jack” Reynolds Field. I don’t think I have ever saw a man that humble and appreciative of something in my life. You could truly tell it meant the world to him. The tears of joy running down his face as he was just taken away by it all and it just really left him speechless. It was one of the happiest days of my life to be a part of that moment. He told us up there that he always felt giving back to the community was the right thing to do, but he never dreamt of this.

One thing I would like to add since we are talking about him and it may not mean anything to anyone else, but it does to me. Every time I saw him or talked to him, no matter what, he always told me that he appreciated me and that he was glad to have me at the bank. That’s something that I will never forget. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 12/28/2021-6AM)

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