Category Archives: deaths

The Passing of Billy Walker

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The VirtualBoxwell Team is sad to announce the passing of Billy Walker. While never a staff member, Billy had a long history in Scouting.  In addition to attending the Narrows of the Harpeth Boxwell as a young Scout, Billy was spent a large chunk of his adult life with Troop 137 in Franklin and serving the Council in various capacities.  In his life outside Scouting, he was the second generation owner of Walker Chevrolet in Franklin. For our purposes, he was the man responsible for creating Boxwell’s COPE, single-handedly financing the creation of the original project back in 1983. He passed away today, July 12, 2018.

http://www.williamsonmemorial.com/book-of-memories/3561063/Walker,-Sr.-William-Helm-Billy/obituary.php

Billy Walker

Billy Walker at a gathering of former Staff Members and friends in 2010.

COPE

The current Billy Walker COPE sign

Notice

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Hello All,

We’re taking a small hiatus.  We’ll be back the first Sunday in June with regular postings.  Enjoy the nice weather and see you in two weeks with some more Boxwell history!

The VirtualBoxwell Team

From the Archives, December 17, 2017

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Dutch and Tom, 2009

The photo of Carl Adkins at the 2009 Reunion caused us to dive back into the 2009 Reunion photos a bit. You can, of course, visit all the Reunions at our Flickr account or just read up about Staff Reunions (yes, shameless plug for both. Sorry).

In the digging, we came across this photo of Claus “Dutch” Mann and Tom Willhite. There’s not a single thing unique or special about this photo. It is just two older men who have known each other for years and been involved in Scouting for decades, chatting at the Cripple Crab during registration for the Reunion.  Dutch worked at Boxwell on and off from the 1960s to the 1990s at Stahlman, Parnell, and Craig.  Tom was a Camp Director at Parnell and Reservation Director from 1976 to 1994.

The only remarkable thing here is simply that neither man is still with us. Dutch passed away this year, in March to be specific. He followed Tom, who left us in September 2013. Two greats together in one photo. This is why we have reunions. Not just to celebrate the good times we had together, but to remember those who are no longer with us.

Dutch and Tom

Dutch Mann and Tom Willhite at the Crab during registration for the 2009 reunion.

The Passing of Claus “Dutch” Mann

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The VirtualBoxwell team is sad to report that Claus ‘Dutch’ Mann passed away today.  Visitation and funeral service information can be found here: http://www.nealtarpleyparchman.com/tributes/Claus-Mann.
 
Dutch joined the Stahlman staff in 1964 as the range officer, where he stayed for several years. He became a Stahlman Commissioner when the reservation moved to the Commissioner system in 1971. It was at this time that Dutch started the Boxwell Gizmo (yes, that Gizmo). He moved to Camp Parnell and ran Field Sports for several years in the 1970s. IN 1976, when the Great Staff Walk Out occurred, Dutch was one the men who walked out, though he came back several days later. Dutch spent most of the rest of his tenure as a Craig-Parnell staff member, mostly as Handicraft Director in his later years, but he did spend on summer in the 1980s back at Stahlman as Activity Yard Director. He was part of the group that orchestrated the first staff reunion in 1983. Dutch’s last summer was 1996, though he remained connected to the camp, carving the awards for the 2014 Staff Reunion.  Dutch remained active before finally succumbing to cancer this year.
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Obituary Information
http://www.nealtarpleyparchman.com/tributes/Claus-Mann

Claus Mann, age 93, of Clarksville, passed away Saturday, March 25, 2017, at Brookdale of Clarksville.

Funeral Mass will be held Wednesday, March 29, at 11:00 AM, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. Burial will follow at Williamson Memorial Gardens, in Franklin, TN, where full military honors will be rendered. Visitation will be Tuesday, March 28, from 4:00 to 7:00 PM, at Neal-Tarpley-Parchman Funeral Home, with a Celebration of Life following at 7:00, and Wednesday, March 29, from 9:30 AM until the hour of service, at the church.

Arrangements are entrusted to Neal-Tarpley-Parchman Funeral Home, 1510 Madison Street, Clarksville, TN 37040; (931) 645-6488. Online condolences may be made at www.nealtarpleyparchman.com.