Mr. John Thomas O’Dell, 98, resident of Oakmont Manor, Ashland, KY, former long time resident of Huntington and formerly of Charleston, died May 25, 2011. He was a native West Virginian and the son of George Washington and Flossy Fern O’Dell of Charleston. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Doris Jenkins O’Dell of Charleston in 1957, and his wife of fifty years Frances Jackson O’Dell in 2008; brothers Denzil A and Virgil W. O’Dell, and sister Lillian O’Dell Bourne. He is survived by sons: John Thomas O’Dell, Jr., and his sons Christopher Lee and John Lewis of Point Pleasant, WV; Timothy Tucker (Colleen) O’Dell of New Albany, OH, and their daughter, Sarah Frances; Dr Karl Andrew Tucker O’Dell and his son William Tucker of Ashland, KY. and his daughter Megan Karli of Cincinnati, OH; daughter Molly Jay O’Dell of Huntington; Dr. Ben Jackson (Kathy Howard) O’Dell of Ashland, KY, and their children, Nicholas Howard, Patrick Benjamin, Alexander Thomas, and Emily Katherine; niece Nancy O’Dell Barbour of Roanoke, VA, and nephew Denzil A. (Carolyn) O’Dell, Jr., of Lexington, KY. J. T. as he was called by his friends, served in the United States Army Air Forces during WW II, and was stationed in England and France from 1943 to 1945. In 1947, he started with Hatfield Coal Company in a career with the coal transportation industry that was to extend over a period of 31 years. In 1950, Hatfield Coal was acquired by Amherst Coal and there he was appointed traffic manager whose responsibility it was to coordinate barge movement for the company’s fleet of towboats and over 200 barges on the Kanawha on Ohio River systems. In 1966, he became head of Huntington River Terminal of Amherst Industries, Inc., a subsidiary of Amherst Coal and coordinated river and rail movement of coal from the mines to industrial customers, steel mills, coking plants, and utility plants of West Virginia and neighboring states, As such, he was closely engaged in interstate commerce of coal movements. Over this period of years, he actively pursued an interest in the Ohio River and its propensity toward flooding, and worked closely with the Army Corps of Engineers accurately predicting the rise and fall of the river, greatly enhancing his position as head of the Huntington River terminal. In 1978, John T. O’Dell retired after completing a supremely productive and meaningful career in the coal transportation business. He was commissioned Admiral of the Line of the Cherry River Navy of WV., in 1979. Graveside services and burial with full Military Honors will be at 11:00 AM Tuesday, May 31, 2011 at Spring Hill Cemetery, Soldiers Field, Huntington, WV, with Deaconess Sharon McDonald officiating. The family would like to thank the staff at Oakmont Manor and Hospice of Ashland, KY. for their kind and considerate care. Memorial contributions may be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, (800)533-CURE.