Raymond T. DeArmond

Born October 19, 1908 in Blount County, Tennessee, Raymond Tolliver DeArmond graduated from Carson-Newman in 1933 and then went on to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where he earned his Th.M. and would later serve as a trustee. In 1935 he married Ruth Wilson. He pastored churches in Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Alabama. Those in Tennessee included Cedar Grove Baptist Church, Maryville, Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church, Maryville, Prospect Baptist Church, Maryville, Sevier Heights Baptist Church, Knoxville, and Valley Grove Baptist Church, Knoxville.

He served as a trustee for Carson-Newman from 1955-1961 and was awarded an honorary doctorate of divinity degree in 1978. In addition DeArmond also served as president of the Tennessee Baptist Convention, was a member of the executive boards of the South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama Baptist Conventions, and moderator in Baptist Associations of Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama.

After retiring, he returned to his home state in 1973 and until his death in 1988 at age 79 was interim pastor at nineteen churches in East Tennessee. Rev. DeArmond was the father of Carson-Newman’s Carolyn DeArmond Blevins, Associate Professor of Religion since 1977 and 1959 C-N graduate.