Tuesday, December 27, 2016 3:47 pm

Why did Franz and Shannon Walkup decide to built their new home in Woodbury?

"I've been a Woodbury resident since 2013. I attended Cannon County High School, graduating in 2007," Franz said." Love the small town feel."

"I moved to America from Germany, lived in Murfreesboro and my parents decided Cannon County would be a better fit for us. So we moved here in 2003 and fell in love with the small town charm it has," he continued.

"When I joined the Army, I always kept Woodbury as my home town of record and Shannon, my wife, is from here as well, so it was only natural to come back," Franz said.

The way Woodbury responded to the death of his brother, 1st Lt. Frank Walkup IV, after he was killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb in 2007, three days before his 24th birthday.

"After my brother passed away in 2007 and just seeing the community support. They had people on both sides of the road all the way from the church to the burial ground. You just can't leave a town like that after they put so much out for you," Franz said.

"Losing my dad last year was hard on us, but he helped design this house. I have tons of memories of me and my father designing this house. It was like his final gift to me," he said.

Franz' father, Frank Walkup was a veteran of the Army and a member of the Woodbury United Methodist Church. He was the Facility Manager at J. Percy Priest, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and he was also a Cannon County School Board Member.

"My brother is buried here, my dad. My mom lives up the road. So Cannon County is where we call home," Franz said.