John Bruce Brackin, affectionately known as "Papaw", went home to Heaven to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Sunday, March 5, 2023.

He was blessed with a long life of 90 plus years, which he chose to live to the fullest.  A native of Blount County, Tennessee, he grew up one of eleven children in a home full of love.  After finishing high school, he served in the United Sates Army, and then came home to marry his high school sweetheart, Eva Lee Russell, following her graduation from the University of Tennessee.  Together, they created a happy home and raised a daughter, Vickie Denisha Brackin.  Later, she and her husband would bless them with three grandchildren and, eventually, seven great-grandsons.

Bruce worked for over thirty years at the Ford Motor Company assembly plant in Hapeville, Georgia, before retiring and moving back to east Tennessee.  He enjoyed sports, especially football, basketball, and stock car racing, as well as gardening, bee-keeping, working in his yard, and walking.  His favorite pastime, though, was coon hunting, which he undertook as long as he was able, raising and training multiple coon dogs along the way.

Mostly, he loved getting together with his family and friends and celebrating the simple blessings of life.  A faithful participant as long as he was able to attend, Bruce was a member of Lenoir City First Baptist Church and the David Davis Sunday School Class.

He was preceded in death by his father, John McKinley Brackin, his mother, Freddie Estella Wilson Brackin, and nine of his ten siblings:  Myrtle Pauline Brackin (Tipton), Bobby Ralph Brackin, Johnnie Elizabeth Brackin, Addie June Brackin (Oliver), Jimmy Ray Brackin, Carolyn Virginia Brackin (Nichols), Sammy Darrell Brackin, Terry Kenneth Brackin, and Gary Brackin.  He has now been reunited with these loved ones, as well as a great-grandbaby, who also awaited him in Heaven.

He is survived by his wife of nearly 63 years, Eva Lee Russell Brackin; his daughter, Vickie Denisha Brackin Jackson, and her husband, Cleo Eugene Jackson, III; granddaughter Andrea Danile Jackson Whisman, her husband, Billy, and their three sons, Will, Wally, and Wes; grandson John Caleb Jackson, his wife, Whitney, and their two sons, Rhett and Callahan; and grandson Micah Paul Jackson, his wife, Jordan, and their two sons, Grey and Finn; as well as by his brother, Dennis Lynn Brackin, and numerous in-laws, nieces, and nephews.

The family will receive friends from 12:00 pm until 2:00 pm on Thursday, March 9, 2023, at Miller Funeral Home Magnolia Chapel in Maryville, Tennessee.  A Service of Celebration for Bruce's life will then be held at 2:00 pm, with Rev. Greg Brackin and Dr. Cleo E. Jackson, III officiating.  Interment will follow at Grandview Cemetery.

Miller Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.