Obituary of Tony Lee Nations

~~Tony Lee Nations passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, July 20 at the age of 63. Tony and wife Karen were in Fairbanks, Alaska visiting their son Matt and his family. Tony is survived by wife Karen of Charlotte, NC, daughter LeeAnne of Charlotte, NC and son Matthew and daughter-in-law Kari of Fairbanks, AK, as well as one grandson, Thailor of Charlotte, NC and three granddaughters, Sierra, Katie and Savana of Fairbanks, AK.
Tony has four living siblings, brother Jim of Bryson City, NC, Sam of Charleston, SC, Jerry of Six Mile, SC and Betty of Six Mile, SC. He was preceded in death by his parents Ed and Alma Nations and sister Peggy Nations of Bryson City.
Tony and Karen had been married for 42 years and made their home in Charlotte, NC. Tony was an avid Carolina Panthers, Swain County High School and Atlanta Braves fan. Tony graduated in the class of 1972 from Swain High.
He was retired from the US Army with the rank of Sergeant First Class, a veteran of Desert Storm and Desert Shield. He completed two tours of duty in Korea, one tour of duty in Germany, and participated in Operation Restore Hope in Somalia. His stateside duties included assignments at Fort Huachuca, AZ, Fort Carson, CO, Fort Campbell, KY, Fort Stewart, GA and Fort Wainwright, AK. Military decorations include two Bronze Service Stars, Meritorious Service Metal, Army Commendation Medal (7th award), Army Achievement Metal (6th award), Army Good Conduct Metal (5th award), National Defense Service Metal, Armed Forced Expeditionary Metal and Southwest Asia Service Metal.
A funeral service will be held at 2PM Saturday in the chapel at Crisp Funeral Home. Interment will be in Swain Memorial Park.