Barney Thweatt 91, of Benton peacefully passed away surrounded by his family on Tuesday, March 1, 2022 at his home.
Barney is woven into the fabric of the storied tradition that is Kentucky high school basketball, going back to the 1947 and 1948 Brewers Redmen teams. He helped lead the 1948 team to a state title, finishing with a perfect 36-0 record that still stands today as the only undefeated state championship team.
The 1947 team lost 54-40 to Maysville but the two would meet again on March 20, 1948 and this time the Redmen won the crown 65-48. During that perfect season, the Redmen averaged 72 points per game while holding their opponents to an average of 48 points per game. Barney was captain of the 1948 team and selected First Team All-State.
Barney was one of 12 members of his senior class at Brewers and the entire school had approximately 40 boys which made the Redmen’s 1948 state title a real “Hoosiers” story of Kentucky. In those days, the courts were a bit shorter and narrower and the Redmen used a coal generator for light and heat. Barney walked four miles from home each day in all kinds of weather, to and from practice.
Barney authored the book “Brewers Basketball: A Winning Tradition” in 2006.
After graduating from Brewers, Barney followed Brewers Head Coach McCoy Tarry to Memphis State along with teammates Coy Creason, Van Mathis and Jim Owen. Barney suffered a knee injury before his freshman season, played his sophomore year but re-injured the knee his junior year. He left Memphis, along with Coach Tarry, to be Tarry’s assistant at Sedalia High School in Graves County.
While an assistant at Sedalia, Barney enrolled at Murray State to finish his education and during his student teaching at Crittenden County, he made the decision to play his final year of eligibility for the Racers.
After college, he coached in Illinois for two years then returned to be an assistant coach at Paducah Tilghman for Coach Otis Dinning. Following Paducah Tilghman, Barney was a coach at Oldham County then came back to Paducah Tilghman to take the head coach position.
During his 13 years as a head coach, Barney won six district titles, two regional titles, a trip to the Sweet 16 with Paducah Tilghman in 1967 and the Final Four with Oldham County who finished the 1963 season with a 31-3 record.
Barney made the transition from coach to teacher under the urging of Marshall County Superintendent Reed Conder and began his career in administration at North Marshall where he spent three years. He went on to become principal at Mayfield and Christian County in 1973 and where he retired in 1987.
His accomplishments go beyond the court and the classroom. Barney was a member of the KHSAA Board of Control for four years, KHSAA president in 1981, president of the Kentucky Association of Secondary Principals in 1985-1986 and served on the Marshall County Athletic Foundation board.
He was inducted into the KHSAA Hall of Fame in 1991, is a member of the Sweet 16 Hall of Fame and Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches Court of Honor and inducted into both the Christian County Athletic Hall of Fame and Oldham County Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018.
In 2009, Barney was inducted into the Marshall County Athletic Hall of Fame as a member of the 1947 and 1948 Brewers teams as an individual as the starting guard for the 1946, 1947 and 1948 state tournament teams. He was inducted into the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020.
Very involved in charities and civic groups everywhere he lived, Barney believed that serving your community benefits everyone. He was a commissioner on the Benton City Planning and Zoning Board and received the Marshall County Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the community. He worked with the Auxiliary at Marshall County Hospital and was a big supporter of Marcella’s Kitchen and The Exceptional Center.
An avid gardener who was eager to share his harvest with others, Barney was also known to cast a line every now and then and acquired the nickname Bluegillbarn for his exceptional fishing skills.
The House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Kentucky recognized June 27, 2019 as “Barney Thweatt Day”, in appreciation of his immeasurable contributions to his community and fellow citizens.
Barney was a loving father to all of his children, grandchildren and great grandchild. His faith in the Lord was always his guiding light.
He is survived by two daughters, Shannon Copeland (Drew) of Gilbertsville and Gretchen Johnson (Stephen) of Murfreesboro, TN; one son, Mark Thweatt of Hopkinsville; one sister, Deborah Stone of Benton; four grandchildren, Crystal Thweatt Fowler (Dan), Nicholas Thweatt, Hillary Copeland, and Carly Copeland; one great grandchild, Kamdynn Thweatt; and his previous wife and mother of their children, Joyce Crawley Brown.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Ann Mathis Thweatt; two sisters, Peggy Culver and Marjorie Elkins; three infant brothers; and his parents.
The family would like to give heartfelt thank you to the loving caregivers, Heather Chambers, Kristen Clark, Phyllis Collins, Shawna Darnall, Leanna Frizzell, Claudine Morehead, and Andrew Smith that were sent to them directly from God.
Filbeck-Cann Funeral Home of Milner & Orr is handling the arrangements.
A funeral service will be held at 2:00 PM on March 7, 2022 at Hardin Baptist Church. Bro. Ricky Cunningham will officiate and burial will follow at Thweatt Cemetery.
Visitation will be held from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM on March 7, 2022 at Hardin Baptist Church.
Expressions of sympathy may take the form of donation to Thweatt Cemetery Fund, ℅ Sheila Slack, 203 Bill Butler Road, Hardin, KY 42048.
You may leave a message or send a Hug from Home to the family at www.filbeckandcann.com.