Robert Bagby Obituary

Dr. Robert Ward "Bob" Bagby

July 22, 1925 -

July 26, 2025

JOHNSON CITY - Dr. Robert Ward "Bob" Bagby, age 100, of Johnson City, Tennessee, passed away peacefully on the morning of July 26, 2025, of natural causes-just four days after joyfully celebrating his centennial birthday surrounded by family and friends. At his bedside was his devoted wife, Janie Bagby. A beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, dental surgeon, and U.S. Navy veteran, he lived a long and remarkable life marked by humor, kindness, curiosity, and deep affection for his family and friends. He held a steadfast commitment to his profession and a deep appreciation for the mountain culture of East Tennessee and Western North Carolina.

Born on July 22, 1925, in Johnson City, Bob was the youngest of six children who came of age during the Great Depression and a member of the Greatest Generation. He graduated from Science Hill High School in 1943 and, like many of his generational peers, answered the call to serve in World War II. At age 17 years, along with his twin brother Bill, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943, training as a B-17 and B-29 radio operator. While stationed in Alamogordo, New Mexico, he witnessed the historic "Trinity" test-the first atomic bomb explosion-on July 16, 1945, at 05:29, an event he would later recall in vivid detail. He was subsequently deployed to Guam but returned stateside shortly after the war ended.

After the war, Bob pursued a career in dentistry. Using the GI Bill, he completed his undergraduate degree in Pre-Dental/Medical Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) from the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis in 1950. He was then commissioned into the U.S. Navy and completed residency training in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland, beginning a long and distinguished career in the U.S. Naval Medical and Dental Corps.

He rose quickly to the rank of Captain and held numerous posts at duty stations across the United States and abroad, including Bethesda, Maryland; Portsmouth, Virginia; Coronado and Alameda, California; Honolulu, Hawaii; Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Rota, Spain; and Annapolis, Maryland, where he served as Chief Oral Surgeon at the U.S. Naval Academy. He was also deployed aboard several naval vessels, including the aircraft carriers USS Coral Sea and USS Midway, and the submarine tenders USS Holland and USS Canopus.

Of his many postings, he and his family especially cherished their years in New England and southern Spain. He embraced-and instilled in his children-an appreciation for the unique cultures of both regions, creating rich and enduring family memories.

Following his retirement from active duty in 1971, Bob returned to Johnson City and committed himself to education, serving as Chair of the Dental Hygiene Program at East Tennessee State University. In 1977, he entered private practice in general dentistry, continuing to serve patients until his full retirement in the early 1990s.

Though disciplined by military service and dedicated to professional life, Bob was widely known for his empathy, warmth and humor, forging lasting friendships both at home and across the globe. He possessed a quick, kind-spirited wit, a sharp and nimble intellect, and a playful sense of humor-traits that endeared him to students, patients, colleagues, and friends alike. He was a voracious reader of history, biography, and politics, with a stack of books always by his recliner and the Wall Street Journal in hand well into his 90s. Like his twin brother Bill, he was a gifted athlete-an excellent squash and tennis player, a passionate golfer, and a devoted fitness enthusiast and jogger. He remained intellectually and physically active into his late 80s.

He shared much of his life with his late wife, Ramelle Mallard Bagby, whom he met in dental school in Memphis and married in 1950. They were married for nearly 50 years before her passing on March 1, 2000.

In his later years, he found renewed joy and companionship in his marriage to Janie Bagby, a devoted partner who remained lovingly at his side until his final moments. He formed a deep and lasting bond with Janie's two sons-Hank and Gib Carr-and their wives and families: Thomas, Marilou, Alex, Sidney, and Eliza. He embraced them with open arms and was, in turn, loved and cherished as family in every sense.

Bob is survived by his wife, Janie; his three children: Capt. Steven M. Bagby, USN (ret.), of Waynesville, North Carolina; Dr. Michael Bagby of Toronto, Canada; and Carolyn Bagby Bedingfield of Monument, Colorado; six grandchildren-Steve, Lindsay, Ben, Casey, Sam, and David; and nine great-grandchildren-Lachlan, Sebastian, Arabella, Cameron, Evan, Kellen, Mason, River, and Vayda.

He was predeceased by his father, James W. Bagby Sr.; his mother, Lucile Shuford Bagby; and his five siblings: Dr. James W. Bagby Jr., Lucile Bagby Elliott, Virginia Adams Bagby, Betty Bagby Chester, and his beloved twin brother, Dr. William "Bill" Robinson Bagby.

He lived more than a century filled with service, family, friendship, travel, and love-marked always by discipline, humility, and good humor. A true man of the Greatest Generation, he will be remembered for the grace and joy with which he lived. May he rest in peace.

The Bagby and Carr families would also like to express their heartfelt thanks to the staff and many friends Bob made in his time at Dominion Senior Living in Johnson City, TN., and also to the staff who provided exceptional and compassionate hospice care in his final months and hours.

A memorial service and reception to honor and celebrate his life will be held at Tetrick Funeral Services on August 23, 2025 from 1:30 – 3:30pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations in his memory to their preferred charity or organization, but especially those supporting veterans, education, and Appalachian culture.

With love and remembrance,

Mike, Carolyn, and Steve

Tetrick Funeral Services, 3001 Peoples Street, Johnson City, TN 37604 is honored to be serving the Bagby Family.