Michael Engers Callaway

Michael Engers Callaway, 86, of Cleveland, Tennessee - a beloved husband and father, committed community and church leader, and great friend to many - passed away peacefully on Tuesday, July 28, 2026.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Phyllis Easterly Callaway of Cleveland; three daughters: Pharis Elizabeth "Libby" Callaway of Nashville, Marie Ervin Callaway Kellner (Jeff) of Boise, Idaho, and Mildred Engers "Millie" Callaway Parkes (Matt), also of Nashville; three grandchildren: Aurora Jane "Rory" Kellner of Boise, Ava Patricia Parkes of Knoxville, and James Maddox Parkes of Nashville; his namesake nephew, Michael Kennedy Burkland (Jacqueline) of Tucson, Arizona; and his sister-in-law, Jane Easterly (Bob S. Quinn), of Cleveland. He was preceded in death by his parents, Eugene Earl "Gene" Callaway and Acsha Marie (Engers) Callaway; his sister, Gene Marie Callaway Burkland; and his stepmother, Mildred Roy Pinion Callaway.

A native of Cleveland with a family history that spans seven generations over two centuries in Bradley County. Mike was a respected and engaged local citizen, committed to preserving and nurturing the growth of the community.

He lived with humility and integrity, offering kindness without fanfare, and standing firm in what he believed to be right. He had a quick wit and a sharp mind. Mike was never the loudest voice in a room, but when he spoke, which he did with consideration and intention, people listened. His family and friends often compared him to Atticus Finch - a Southern gentleman of virtue and fortitude.

Mike was comfortingly consistent. He wore seersucker suits in the spring and summer and bowties year-round. A beautiful writer, he had the wonderful habit of sending folks newspaper clippings he thought they'd appreciate, always accompanied by a small note he typed briskly on a vintage typewriter - with two fingers, no less. He was good at remembering names and faces, had a knack for details (observation was one of his strong suits, which he honed watching juries for so many years), and was true to his word.

At home, the kitchen was Mike's domain. He loved to cook. He collected recipes to try out on Phyllis and would happily spend hours in the grocery store, shopping for ingredients. The kitchen was also where he did most of his reading, seated in a large blue armchair on one end of the room. He read the local papers and the New York Times cover-to-cover every day, clipping stories of interest and the daily crossword puzzles, which was a favorite hobby.

He was a member of and held many leadership and board positions at: the United Way of Bradley County, where he was a board member for 58 years, serving as chair in 1973; the Cleveland State Community College Foundation; the Cleveland Public Library; the Rotary Foundation; the Harry S. Truman Club; and Thrive 2055. For almost 50 years, he was a member of Bulls & Bears.

Mike was an active member of the Rotary Club of Cleveland dating to 1967. Of his 59 year membership, he had perfect attendance for 22. He was named a Paul Harris Fellow more than ten times and was Rotarian of the Year in 1999.

Mike was honored for his civic work several times during his life. He received the Cleveland/Bradley County "Young Man of the Year" award in 1973; the William F. Johnson Community Service Award in 1977, bestowed by the United Way; and the Robert W. Varnell, Jr. Leadership Award in 2000, given by the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce. He served in the U.S. Army Reserve and was honorably discharged in 1971.

He was a lifelong member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, where he was active throughout his life, serving as both a member and Senior Warden of the Vestry. Until his health declined, Mike was a regular attendee and leader at Friday morning Men's Prayer Breakfast. At the time of Mike's death, he was the church's longest standing congregant. He is a 2012 graduate of the Education for Ministry (EFM) program at the School of Theology at the University of the South in Sewanee.

Mike grew up in downtown Cleveland and attended Arnold Elementary School, located three blocks from his childhood home on 8th Street. Since 1978, he and his family have lived on Centenary Avenue, in a home which is, coincidentally, also three blocks from the house where he grew up, albeit in a different direction. He was a respected elder in the neighborhood and was a founding member and past president of the Historic Cleveland Neighborhood Association.

He is a graduate of Tennessee Military Institute in Sweetwater, Tennessee. He received a B.A. from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville in 1962, and a J.D. from the University's School of Law in 1965. During law school, he was an editor at the Virginia Law Weekly.

As an undergrad at UVA, he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Mike's frat escapades informed stories he'd re-tell at the request and delight of his daughters, including tales of elaborate pranks, the time that Ike and Tina Turner played a party in the basement, and the many occasions when William Faulkner stopped by the SAE house for happy hour.

Until his retirement in 2008, Mike spent his entire career as an attorney in Cleveland at Bell & Associates, P.C. and its predecessor firms, dating to 1965. He specialized in trial practice, primarily civil, while also representing and serving as General Counsel to Bradley Memorial Hospital, Cleveland Bank & Trust Co./First Tennessee, and the Church of God. Among other affiliations and service, he was a member and past president of the Bradley County Bar Association, a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and was appointed by the Supreme Court of Tennessee to serve three terms on the Board of Professional Responsibility.

Mike was a proud Democrat. His father, Gene, was active in state Democratic politics and served as a role model for his son's political activism. Both men were delegates to the 1960 Democratic National Convention to support the presidential nomination of John F. Kennedy. Mike was an alternate delegate to the 1964 convention to nominate Lyndon B. Johnson.

From 1950 through the 2010s, Mike spent his summers on Parksville Lake, just outside of Cleveland. The lake was, he often said, his favorite place on earth. It was where he felt the most at home, and where he made a lifetime of memories. He took childhood fishing trips with his daddy; went nighttime frog gigging in his teens; threw toga parties in his twenties, sometimes featuring live music from L. Mills, his favorite piano player at Panoram Club on Lookout Mountain, a lounge where he and Phyllis courted; and, later, spent summers teaching his daughters to swim, ski and appreciate nature.

Mike loved a good hike, whether it was the short trek over Sugarloaf Mountain, which rose just behind the Parksville cabin, or the annual overnight trek he made for over 20 years with friends to the top of Mount LeConte, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

As much as he loved his hometown and the rolling hills and lakes just beyond it, Mike was a great admirer of the American West. He had a particular affinity for the Grand Canyon. In the early '70s, he made two life-changing trips down the Colorado River with Grand Canyon Dories, owned by the renowned conservationist Martin Litton, who became a friend. Martin and his Cessna 195 were the ticket to some of Mike's most epic Western adventures, including a surreptitious flight under a major bridge in the San Francisco Bay and a deep dive into Idaho's Snake River Canyon.

The family would like to thank his caregivers: Christy Cope, Misty Moore and Amy Schmidt; Dr. Sylvia Kreuger and the team at Tennessee Oncology; and the ICU staff at Bradley Medical Center.

The family will receive visitors from 11 AM - 2 PM on Friday, August 7 in the Parish Hall at St. Luke's Episcopal Church. A funeral will follow in the sanctuary at 2 PM. Guests are encouraged to wear seersucker.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to St. Luke's Episcopal Church or the United Way of the Ocoee Region.

You are encouraged to share a memory of Mike and /or your personal condolences with his family by visiting his memorial webpage and guestbook at www.companionfunerals.com. Companion Funeral & Cremation Service and the Cody family are honored to assist his family with these arrangements.