KNOXVILLE - Bobby Drinnon, the self-styled “sensitive” whose insights were sought by those around the world, has died after a long fight with cancer.
He was 61. Drinnon died at home in Talbott, according to an obituary posted on his website.
“It is with a sense of profound sadness that we share with you the loss of our beloved Bobby, who passed from our earthly embrace March 3,” a statement from his family reads. “Despite our grief, we are grateful that his suffering from cancer is over and that he is at rest with Jesus, at last.”
Drinnon, who often used the rainbow as a favorite symbol, didn’t call himself a psychic. He preferred to refer to himself as “a sensitive.” Admirers considered Drinnon to have a remarkable skill at sensing what others were going through and could face in life.
“He resisted the attempts of others to identify him with the New Age movement, referencing his Christian faith and the personal commitment he made to Jesus, as a child, at Buffalo Trail Baptist Church, in Morristown,” his obituary states.
Drinnon alluded to his cancer in a posting last year on his website.
From time to time, Drinnon would offer his thoughts about events likely to happen in the future. He cautioned in an interview with the News Sentinel in January 1999 that no one could actually see into the future.
As the world anticipated the arrival of the year 2000, he offered these intuitive thoughts:
He said he believed that a shift in the galaxy position, “a solar shift” that began in 1982, was bringing changes to Earth. “The galaxy will continue this movement until about 2010, and major earth changes will peak about 2005,” he writes in an issue of his newsletter, “The Rainbow Crest.”
He thought geological and atmospheric changes would be significant. Drinnon suggested extreme weather changes would continue, from really dry days to lots of rain.
“He says if he could give advice for the millennium he would suggest storing up on water and batteries to prepare for weather extremes,” longtime reporter Louise Durman noted.
Other observations:
“He thinks an earthquake “of magnitude” will occur in the area of Loudon and Blount counties. He also has dreamed of a tornado in the Oak Ridge area, possibly around radioactive storage.
“The earth is shaking people off. Earth wants people to wake up. Earth wants people to start taking care of it.
“His other major concern is the economy, which he says will be ‘rough’ for the next several years. He says several larger businesses will be going under. The stock market will continue its roller-coaster ride, and he fears for the economy from 2000 to 2005 with a ‘secret’ recession likely.
“Loudon County will be the growing area, and growth will be reduced in Sevier County. Oak Ridge may become a ghost town.
“Downtown Knoxville will come back....
“A major politician will come out of Knoxville to become governor.
“A ‘new star, a blond, will come from this area. Like a younger Dolly Parton.
“Video rental stores will disappear. Entertainment will come to the home from a computer-based company, and voice commands will be used to operate these home centers. Television screens will be larger and will be built into the walls of many rooms in the house.
“Grocery shopping will be done from home through computers that will take clients down the aisles. “You will click on what you want.” Stores will deliver, or orders will be waiting for easy pickup.
“Cooking appliances will operate with laser energy and heat.
“Telephones will be built into the walls at home, and numbers will be dialed with voice commands. Not only will telephones be cordless, but also wireless.
“Vegetarianism will increase. Small farms will become luxuries of the rich.
“Lawn mowers won’t be needed. Seed will be developed for grass to grow so far and stop.
“Needles will not be used for injections. A small pad and stamp will take their place. Scalpels will be practically eliminated in surgery, and dentists will no longer use drills.
“Twenty-five percent of all diagnoses will be done from the home, and doctors’ offices will have a different look. “For physical exams, you will be seated in a small room, and the walls will contain diagnostic instrumentation. Diagnoses will be almost instantaneous.”
“A huge medical discovery will come from this area, and an alternative hospital (for holistic treatment) will be built here. “I see it doing well.”
“Scientists will send a spacecraft to pick up the body of a deceased astronaut.
“The IRS will change its name. “We will go to a flat tax.”
“It makes me nervous to see banks taking control of people. People need to get out of debt.”
“China will align with an Islamic nation, and we’ll have more problems with China than with Russia. Korea, as well as China, will be a future enemy. “The news will be big and horrible.”
A celebration of life is planned 3 p.m. March 23 at Angelo’s at the Point, Douglas Lake, in Dandridge. It will be an outdoor event.
The family requests that memorial gifts be sent to All Saints Episcopal School, attention Bobby Drinnon Scholarship Fund, 3275 Maple Valley Road, Morristown, TN. 37813.
Survivors include daughter Sarah Ann Drinnon and her mother Juanita Trent, both of Talbott; son Justin Drinnon and wife Kasey Drinnon and granddaughter Zada Grace Drinnon of Morristown.
More details as they develop online and in Tuesday’s News Sentinel.
