Life in the Twin Cities—Bristol, Virginia and Bristol, Tennessee—has this specific rhythm. It’s a place where you can stand in two states at once on State Street, but the community itself feels like one singular, tight-knit heart. Honestly, that’s why the bristol herald courier obituaries past week are more than just a list of names. They are the record of our neighbors, the folks who ran the corner stores, the teachers who taught us at Virginia High or Tennessee High, and the veterans who came home to the Blue Ridge.
People check these notices religiously. It’s not about being morbid. It’s about not missing the chance to drop off a casserole or send a card to a family over in Abingdon or Blountville.
Finding the Bristol Herald Courier Obituaries Past Week
Looking for a specific name from the last seven days? It used to be you’d just snap open the physical paper on your porch. Nowadays, most of us are squinting at our phones. The Bristol Herald Courier partners with Legacy.com to host their digital archive. If you’re looking for someone who passed between January 11 and January 18, 2026, you’ve basically got two main paths.
First, there’s the official newspaper site. It’s updated daily. Then there are the local funeral homes—places like Akard, Weaver, or Farris—that often post the full life story before the paper even hits the stands.
Sometimes the "past week" isn't enough. You might be looking for a service date that got pushed back because of a sudden snow dusting on the mountains. In this region, a funeral might happen ten days after a passing, so checking the full month is usually a smarter move than just a seven-day window.
Notable Lives Remembered (Jan 11 – Jan 18, 2026)
This past week has been a heavy one for the community. We've said goodbye to some real fixtures of the region.
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Teresa Gail Garrett, 63, of Bristol, VA, passed away on January 14. If you’ve ever shopped at the Exit 7 Walmart, you likely saw her. She was a "faithful employee" there for over two decades. It’s those kinds of people—the ones we see every week without really knowing them—who make the fabric of Bristol feel like home.
Then there was Neoma Kate Talley. She was 82 and a lifelong Bristolian. She went to be with the Lord on January 13, leaving behind a husband of 64 years. Think about that for a second. Sixty-four years in one marriage, right here in our backyard. That’s the kind of deep-rooted history these obituaries hold.
We also lost Michael Lynn Harless on January 10. He was only 48. A John S. Battle grad who went on to work for big names like Apple and Sprint. He loved the drum corps and gardening. It’s a reminder that these notices aren't just for the elderly; they represent the vibrant, younger professionals who still call this area home even when they work for global tech giants.
A Quick Look at Recent Passings:
- Carol Duhaime (Hawks) – Jan 17
- Nancy Marney – Jan 17
- Anna Cassell – Jan 16
- Clinton Madison Goad – Jan 16
- Dozier Conyers – Jan 16
- Jimmie E. Hanshaw – Jan 16
- Charles W. Haynes – Jan 16
- William H. "Toby" Holbrook – Jan 16
- Mike Alan Seward – Jan 15
Why the Search "Bristol Herald Courier Obituaries Past Week" Spikes
You’ve probably noticed that if you Google this, you get a million different results. Why? Because the Tri-Cities is a massive hub. The Herald Courier covers Washington County, VA, Sullivan County, TN, and parts of Scott and Smyth. When someone passes in a small town like Pound or Meadowview, the Herald Courier is the "big city" paper that carries the news.
Take Radford "Rad" Tompkins for example. He passed earlier this month, but his services often ripple through the news for weeks. He was a truck driver for 45 years. A veteran. A fisherman. When a man like that passes, the "past week" search isn't just about his death date—it's about his friends in North Carolina and Virginia trying to find where the burial is happening.
Kinda makes you realize how interconnected we all are.
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How to Effectively Search the Archives
If you’re doing genealogy or just trying to find an old friend, don't just type the name. Most people get this wrong.
- Use Maiden Names: Especially in Southwest Virginia, family trees are tangled. Search for "Smith" but include the maiden name if you know it.
- Filter by "Last 7 Days": On the Legacy/Herald Courier portal, there is a dropdown menu. Select "Last 7 Days" to avoid getting bogged down in records from 2024.
- Check the "Blogs" Section: Sometimes the Herald Courier puts tributes in their blog section rather than the formal obituary page. It’s a weird quirk of their website layout.
- Funeral Home Sites: If the Herald Courier search is being glitchy (which happens), go straight to the source. Weaver Funeral Home in Bristol, TN or Farris in Abingdon usually have the most up-to-date info.
The Nuance of Local Grief
Obituaries in this part of the country are different than in New York or LA. They’re longer. They list every single grandchild and often the "fur-babies" too. Look at Shirley Dolores Booher, who passed recently. Her obit mentioned she "joined her fur-babies in Heaven."
There’s a certain warmth in that.
It’s also worth noting the limitations. Not every family can afford a $500+ obituary in a daily newspaper. If you can’t find a name in the bristol herald courier obituaries past week, check the "Death Notices" section. These are usually 3-4 lines long and much cheaper, or even free, providing just the bare essentials: name, age, and funeral time.
Action Steps for the Bristol Community
If you are looking for information or trying to support a grieving family this week, here is what you actually need to do:
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- Verify the Service Location: Don't assume the service is at a church. Many families are opting for "Celebrations of Life" at local parks or even funeral home chapels to keep things simple.
- Check for Live Streams: Since the pandemic, many Bristol funeral homes now live-stream services on their Facebook pages. If you can’t make the drive to Abingdon or downtown Bristol, check the funeral home's social media.
- Donations Over Flowers: Most obituaries this week, including those for Radford Tompkins, requested donations to local squads like the Pound Rescue Squad or hospice houses.
- Archive Your Own: if you find a loved one's obituary, print it or save a PDF. Digital archives sometimes move behind paywalls after 30 days.
The bristol herald courier obituaries past week tell the story of a region that values its history and its people. Whether it’s a retired school bus driver like Paul Wayne Worley Sr. or a doctor like Boykin Baird Smith, these stories are the glue of the Twin Cities. Keep checking, keep remembering, and keep reaching out to those neighbors.
To stay updated, you can visit the Herald Courier’s digital portal or stop by the public library in Bristol, which maintains physical copies and microfilm for the deep-dive researchers.