Dr. David Henry Lankford

December 28, 2023

WBBJ Staff,

Dateline: McKenzie, Tennessee
Dr. David Henry Lankford, 83, passed away peacefully Tuesday, December 26th, at home
surrounded by his family. He graduated from Huntingdon High School in 1959 and from
Bethel College in 1963. David then received his masters degree from the University of
Mississippi and completed his doctoral work at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
In 2012 he retired from Bethel College after 47 years of service as a math professor.
David loved woodworking, gunsmithing, and collecting antique tools.
Funeral services will be Saturday December 30, 2023 at 11:00 am at Long Rock
Methodist Church near Huntingdon with Reverends Rob Harris and Jon Carlock
officiating, with burial to follow in the church cemetery. Visitation will be Friday December
29, 2023 from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm at Brummitt-McKenzie Funeral Home, there will not be
any visitation on Saturday.
David was preceded in death by his parents, Claudie and Iva Traywick Lankford and his
brother, James Edward Lankford. He is survived by his wife, Lynda Travillian Lankford, of
59 years, and his two children, Jennifer Lankford (Robby) Cole of Hoover, AL and
Jonathan (Christy) Lankford of McKenzie. Grandchildren include Brooke (Dustin)
Reynolds of Hoover, AL, Samantha (Alan) Keene of Nashville, TN, Emilie (Caleb) Nelson
of Wilmington, NC, Carly (Max) Hobbs of Gleason, TN, and Ryan Cole of Hoover, AL.
David is also survived by nine greatgrandchildren, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah Elizabeth, and
Noah Keene, Milo and Ella Rose Nelson, Luke Henry Hobbs, and Major Reynolds. In lieu
of flowers the family requests donations be made to Bethel University scholarship fund,
Long Rock Methodist Church, or Asera Care Hospice.