Carl Bunch Obituary

Carl Thomas Bunch III, known by most as Tommy, by some as Tom, by his grandbabies as "Poppy", and by his momma, daddy, and big sister as "Toe-head", died on July 5, 2025, at the age of 72, right where he started: in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Tommy was not a quiet man. He was not a polished man. What he was, is one of a kind. He lived loud, laughed at inappropriate times, and never met a filter he didn't blow straight through.
A finishing carpenter by trade and a lifelong tinkerer by nature, Tommy could fix almost anything (though results varied). He was a jack of all trades, master of none, with a "workshop" that doubled as a time capsule of tools, fishing gear, broken electronics, and a vintage nudie mag collection that spanned decades. Some might have called it hoarding. He called it "being prepared" because he would rather "have it and not need it than need it and not have it". He liked guns, knives, NASCAR, and strangely enough, TMZ celebrity gossip.
He loved fishing, especially for crappie, which he could catch and fry better than most restaurants could dream. He loved picnics in Cades Cove, classic rock with the windows down, Hank Williams, Buffalo Trace whiskey, and his daughter's biscuits and gravy.
One thing a lot of people didn't know about Tommy was that, for all his rough edges, he was a deeply creative man. He was a storyteller through and through, spinning tales that hovered somewhere between truth and tall tales. He once drew a massive lady on the Tyvek of River Sports before they sided the building. She's still under there, a secret tribute to his hidden artistic side. In his younger years, he took photographs that were unexpectedly striking, full of mood, detail, and intention. Then, for reasons we'll never know, he put the camera down and never picked it back up. He likely never considered himself an artist, but perhaps he should have.
Tommy had a temper that could rattle windows and a heart that, despite it all, stayed soft toward the ones he loved most. He was a complicated man, quick to argue, quick to help, and loyal in a way that felt like being wrapped in barbed wire and bubble wrap at the same time. If you were his, you knew it, and God help anyone who came for you.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Carl T. Bunch Jr. (Glendell) and Elizabeth F. Ballew (George), several aunts, uncles, cousins, and his lifelong friend, Ricky Curly, who likely greeted him at the gates with a grin and a good story already in progress. Tommy is survived by his two children, daughter, Casey Cochran (Taylor) and son, Corey Bunch (Korie), his favorite people on the planet – his grandchildren Charlotte and Katherine Cochran and Colt and Remi Bunch. His brothers and sisters Teresa Stubbs (Randy), Richard Bunch, Steve Bunch (Kristin), and stepbrother Danny Romines (Sandy), his best friend and shooting buddy Richard Parrot, who checked on him and made sure he never had to face life's messes alone. He also leaves behind a heap of nieces and nephews, a legacy of questionable repairs, unforgettable one-liners, and a whole lot of love.
His family invites you to join them for a visitation on Friday, July 11, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Gentry Griffey Funeral Chapel. Don't expect suits and solemnity; we'll be playing classic rock and telling stories. Come as you are and bring a memory.
In the end, Tommy Bunch was a man made of contradictions: blunt and tender, wild and steady, maddening and magnetic. He left behind stories, scars, recipes, regrets, and more than a few inside jokes. He wasn't perfect. But he was real. And he was ours.
Gentry Griffey Funeral Chapel is honored to serve the Bunch family and invites you to view and sign the online registry. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Carl Thomas "Tommy", please visit our floral store.