The Central High School Wall of Fame will induct seven new members on Saturday, May 16, at 9 a.m. at the Central High School cafeteria in Fountain City.
The seven inductees are Don Carringer, Justin Cox, Elizabeth Huling, Jon Miller, Andrew Ramsey, Marianne Worthington, and Gaylon Wilson posthumously.
We will share a piece of each beginning with Gaylon Wilson.
Gaylon Eugene Wilson grew up in North Knoxville and graduated from Central High School in 1944.
After graduation, he enlisted in the Navy, serving on an anti-aircraft gunnery crew during WWII. After returning to Knoxville, Gaylon was introduced to Coach Robert Neyland, who offered him an immediate scholarship and a place on the team for his service in the Navy. After a career-ending injury, Gaylon left college and entered the workforce, helping to establish the yellow pages for AT&T.
In 1952, as a husband and father, he chose to stay home and for over 40 years headed up Gaylon Wilson Insurance while he and his wife, Bobbye, raised five boys. He became deeply involved in Fountain City Baptist Church, the Fountain City Optimist Club (first president), the honorary Mayor of Fountain City, Santa in the annual Christmas parade, and the coach of many baseball teams, to name a few of his community contributions.
Gaylon passed away in his sleep on December 13, 2025.
Don Carringer has a legacy at Central High School with all three sons graduating from Central and a fourth-generation CHS graduate in his granddaughter.
Don has been a life-long member of Central Baptist church, both serving as a door minister and a Sunday School teacher.
Sports were another main interest for Don as he sold drinks as a young boy at the UT games. He was also the team manager of the CHS football team all four years, as well as serving as class president his sophomore, junior, and senior years.
Too small to play football in college, he flipped the script in college when he tried out for the Army football team at Fort Benning, Georgia. He not only made the team, but he was also the quarterback and one of the defensive backs where he intercepted 5 passes in one game. He transferred his love of sports into coaching many sports and creating the Kick-off and Tip-Off sports books for universities and Knox County football. He also started the full-size magazine called Football in Tennessee and later Basketball Time in Tennessee.
See Don, now, keeping the neighborhood clean as he lives out his motto to always do the right thing.
Justin Cox is known for putting others’ needs before his own, yet doing so with humility. At Central, he played football and baseball but his aim was to serve his country.
Serving his country, Justin graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1997 as a 2nd LT and won numerous medals throughout his seven-year career: Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, and multiple other commendations, badges, medals, and recognitions, ending his service as a Captain. After service, Justin moved back to Knoxville, working at Y-12 and currently at Oak Ridge National Lab.
Coming back full circle, Justin has coached t-ball, coach pitch, and kid pitch baseball.
Elizabeth Huling graduated from Carson-Newman with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. Continued performance training led her to eventually become a teaching artist at Vanderbilt University. A chance audition at the Roy Acuff Theatre led to being cast in A Christmas Carol, also leading to an audition for Broadway. Elizabeth spent over a decade performing musical theatre in New York before retiring. She then founded the Emerging Artists Group, a studio program for young actors and singers.
Elizabeth has directed and musically directed over thirty productions while mentoring scores of aspiring performers.
Jon Miller is a deep-rooted Central High School. He graduated from Central in 1975 and continued to serve the school and community for 28 years, often speaking as an ambassador for them. After earning his BS in Education, he began teaching at Central in 1981 while also coaching CHS football and baseball teams. After teaching at CHS for 16 years and coaching for 13 years, Jon accepted the appointment as Assistant Principal and Athletic Director for the school. Appointed principal of Central in 2002, Jon served the role until he was asked to serve at Hardin Valley Academy.
Jon served the education field as president of the KCS Secondary Principals Association and as vice president of the Tennessee Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.
In retirement, Jon continues to offer encouragement and mentorship. Jon and his family are active members of Fountain City Presbyterian, where they support the church’s community outreach programs.
Andrew Ramsey capitalized on the musical talent he shared outside the CHS lunchroom, playing his electric guitar and amp. This exposure evolved into being recruited to help with music for The Heartland Series, local commercials, and even the half-time spot at the University of Tennessee half-time.
Andy started with seeking a degree in Architecture, but eventually switched to a music degree and never looked back. He showcased his talents by playing in cover bands around town, which eventually led to a career in music production. He and his partner produced music for many famous artists and shows, earning recognition with multiple Grammy, Emmy, and Dove awards.
Andrew has made his mark not only in production but in teaching, as he balanced writing with teaching at Belmont University for 15 years. He is now the chair of the Songwriting Department at Belmont. Two of his former students have won their own Grammy and Dove awards.
Marianne Worthington was born and raised in Fountain City, graduating with the Central High School in 1973, followed by undergraduate studies at Carson-Newman University and postgraduate studies at Ball State University, where she remained to teach classes for five years. Moving to southeastern Kentucky, Marianne taught at the University of the Cumberlands for 32 years while also serving as a church organist.
Marianne’s love of writing manifested in multiple creations, from poetry books to full-length novels, resulting in several literary recognitions. She recently received the inaugural Writers Prize from the Kentucky Foundation for Women. She often works as a senior writer–in–residence, guest speaker, featured reader, and literary artist.
The Central High School alumni association invites the public to come honor these Wall of Fame recipients.
A $25 donation is requested at the door to cover the event’s expenses.
Please RSVP by Friday, May 8, by email to Pam Eubanks at or by call/text to Pam at 865-405-1169, or by email to R. Larry Smith at rlsmith@yahoo.com or by call/text to Larry at 865-679-4106.
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