Jesse Batten

JESSE ALEXANDER BATTEN went to be with the Lord on February 2, 2019 at Hospice of Chattanooga only 26 days from his 86th birthday.  He was born in Marshall County, Tennessee to the late Charles and Maude Batten on February 28, 1933.   In 1953 Jesse served in the U.S. Air Force as a Staff Sargent for 8 years including both active duty and reserves.  Jesse received his B.S. in Engineering Physics in 1960 and his Masters in Physics in 1966 from the University of Chattanooga (now UTC).  He was a senior member of the Instrument Society of America, senior member of The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and an alumni member of Sigma Pi, a Physics honor society.  Jesse worked for Dupont for 33 years before his retirement in 1985.  After retiring from Dupont, Jesse and two friends formed Plant Engineering Consultants, Inc. which he owned and managed for ten years until they sold it in 1995 to T. B. Woods.   He worked for T. B. Woods for five years until retiring a second time in 2000.  He taught Electronics, Math and Physics at Chattanooga State Community College on and off throughout the years from the 1960’s until 2013 when he was 80 years old.

Besides his careers as an engineer and teacher, Jesse loved his many family activities including traveling, camping, hunting, fishing, boating, coaching youth baseball, refereeing freestyle wrestling, and watching and filming countless band concerts, baseball games, and wrestling matches.  Jesse traveled the world with his work and with his family.  He truly lived his dreams.

Jesse was preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Maude Hubbard; his sister, Louise Gentry, and his nephew, Eddie Gentry.  Those left to cherish his memory include his beloved wife of 68 years, Vera Nell Goodwin Batten; his children, Diane Clark (Jim), Randy Batten (Anna) and Steve Batten; his grandchildren, Alex Batten, Alison Batten, Spencer Batten, Mimi Batten and Amelia Batten; his sister, Opal Powers (Pat); and his nephews, Tommy McCord (Cindy) and Greg Gentry (Sherry).  He also leaves behind many friends from his church, Central Baptist Church in Hixson (Abba’s House); from his work at Dupont and Plant Engineering Consultants; from the wrestling community at UTC, and from the Chattanooga and Chapel Hill, Tennessee areas.

A funeral service will be held at Lawrence Funeral Home, 203 South Horton Parkway, Chapel Hill, Tennessee 37034, with visitation from 11 am-2 pm and service at 2 pm on Thursday, February 7.  The burial will be immediately following at Hopper Cemetery.  A memorial to celebrate his life will be held at Chattanooga State Community College from 1-3 pm on Saturday, February 23.  Memorial donations may be made to University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Wrestling, 720 East 4th Street, Chattanooga, TN 37403; Hospice of Chattanooga, 4411 Oakwood Drive, Chattanooga, TN 37416; or Chattanooga State Community College, 4501 Amnicola Hwy., Chattanooga, TN 37406.