Services

Monday, August 10, 2026

Public Viewing: 4:00 P.M. - 6:00 P M..

Held at

Nelson & Sons Chapel Murfreesboro

448 East Burton Street

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Lie In State: 10:00 A.M.

Family Visitation: 11:00 A.M.

Funeral Service: 12:00 Noon

Held at

First Baptist Church

738 East Castle Street

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Interment

Lovvorn Cemetery

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

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Dea. John W. Anderson

Dea. John Wesley Anderson, age 39, of Columbia, Tennessee, departed this life on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, after a lifetime of courage while living with sickle cell disease and a recent battle with a brain tumor.

Born on May 13, 1987, John Wesley was the son of Rev. Kenny L. Anderson Sr. and Annette Anderson. On October 2, 2010, he married Cynthia Anderson, and together they shared nearly sixteen years of marriage while raising their two children, Tariq Davis and Karri Anderson. Diagnosed with sickle cell disease as a young child, John Wesley wasn't expected to live into adulthood. By God's grace, he lived 39 full years and refused to let his illness define him.

At an early age, John Wesley accepted Christ and was baptized at Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church under the leadership of his father, Pastor Kenny L. Anderson Sr. Blessed with a love for music, he sang in the Youth and Mass Choirs and played the drums. He later united with Believers Faith Fellowship under the leadership of Pastor Jason Scales, where he was ordained as a deacon in March 2024. He was always willing to serve wherever he was needed. Together with Cynthia, he also helped organize annual Back 2 School Bashes that brought churches, community partners, and volunteers together to provide children with school supplies, free haircuts, hygiene products, and encouragement. He was also a proud member of Murfreesboro Lodge No. 12, Prince Hall Affiliated.

A 2006 graduate of Columbia Central High School, John Wesley played bass drum in the marching band, sang in the school choir, and was voted Most Musical by his graduating class.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Raymond Smith Sr., Carrie Lizzie Stovall-Anderson, John Orr McCord, and Katherine Armstrong Taylor McCord; and his aunts and uncles, Debra J. Gaines, Audrey A. Fulton, Timothy Anderson, Lanny Anderson, and Raymond Smith Jr.

In addition to his parents, he leaves to cherish his memory his loving wife, Cynthia Anderson; his children, Tariq Davis and Karri Anderson; his brother, Kenny Anderson Jr. (Molly); his nieces and nephews, Anya Anderson and Kaleb Anderson; his aunts and uncles, Douglas (Eleanor) Anderson, Rev. Alvin (Judy) Anderson Sr., Sid (Walena) Anderson, Brad Anderson, Minister Joyce (Thomas) Jones, Chundra Anderson, Roger (Francine) Smith, Johnnie "Peaches" (John) Nowlin, William (Delorse) Taylor, Frank (Neise) Taylor, Kathy (Robin) McClain, Ronnie (Deloris) Taylor, Parnell "Bubba" (Heather) Taylor, and Linda Renfro; his sisters-in-law, Frances Chesterfield (Troy Holmes) and Darlene Smelley (Norman Smelley); his nieces and nephews, Shaterria Bates, Traleicia Holmes, Taliyah Holmes, Darion Smelley, and Ajah Smelley; his self-proclaimed Godmother, Nellie "BB" Watson; his bonus parents, William and Stacey Beasley, Wayne and Sheila Scales, and Chaplain Jimmy and Mama Lisa Sanders; his special friends, Cord Martin, Chris Poynter, Solomon Titus, and Quortez Duncan; along with a host of cousins, church family, and friends.