Harold Houston Galyon, 88, of Smyrna, TN passed away peacefully on July 20, 2026, surrounded by family and friends. Born in Seymour to Oscar Ellis and Flora Belle Taylor Galyon. Harold spent a lifetime building a legacy defined by his faith in Jesus Christ and lived out that example every day. He enjoyed working outside in the yard, fixing anything broken and would most certainly do any task to perfection himself instead of paying for it.
One of his favorite places was the beach where he would sit in the sun listening to the water with some of his favorite friends.
Born and raised on a farm in Sevier County Tennessee. The youngest of nine children, he spent his youth farming, trapping rabbits with his dog Runner and exploring the hills of East Tennessee. After graduating from Sevierville High School in 1957, he attended Carson Newman University where he played football and met the love of his life. Harold went on to a fulfilling career as an Auditor at TN Farmers Co-op. After retiring from the Co-op he spent over 25 years as a CPA doing tax returns and finances for friends and local businesses. Beyond his professional life, Harold was a dedicated church member at First Baptist Smyrna / LifePoint proudly serving many years as a Sunday school teacher, deacon, trustee and treasurer. He could always be found watching any University of Tennessee sports, especially football.
Harold was preceded in death by his parents Oscar Ellis and Flora Belle Galyon. Also preceded in death by siblings Roy Kenneth, Esta Opal, Eula Mae, Ruby Katherine, William Antipas (WA), Marjorie Lucille, Oscar Darrell and Bonnie Louis Galyon. Being the youngest, he was known to them as Shorty. He is survived by a loving spouse of 65 years, Joy McCarter Galyon; children Jana Galyon Leslie (Steve) and Bradley Galyon (Stacy) He was blessed with four grandchildren who referred to him as Pop; Sloane Cutlip, Grant Cutlip, Morgan Morrison, Luke Galyon and one great grandchild Loreli Cutlip.
A celebration of Harold’s life will be held on Sunday July 26th Visitation from 1:00-3:00 pm with the service following at LifePoint Church, Smyrna, TN. All who love him are welcome to attend and share their favorite memories.
Burial service will be on the following day, Monday July 27th, 3:00 pm (Eastern Time) at Grandview Cemetery. 2304 Tuckaleechee Pike, Maryville Tennessee.
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made to Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation. www.curemeso.org
For more obituaries visit our obituaries page.
This obituary was published by Compassion Funeral & Cremation Services – Nashville.
Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter
