Tom N. Austin
(May 11, 1916 - April 27, 2014)
Tom N Austin died Sunday morning in his home on the Asheville Highway in Greene County. He was 97.
Predeceased by his wife Emily Donaldson.
Survived by his four children: Tom Noell Austin Jr., Merrily Austin Teasley, Jay Donaldson Austin and Richard Lyon Austin; 13 grandchildren; twelve great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
The family will be receiving friends at the parish hall of St. James Episcopal Church in Greeneville at 10 o'clock Wednesday morning April 30 followed at 11 by service in the Church and burial in Oak Grove Cemetery. Doughty Stevens Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Of course these are mere statistics and cannot possibly attempt to represent the man this community has known and loved.
Because he was born so long before most of us were around, there are very few people who knew Tom Austin as a boy, but some stories have filtered down. There is a tale he told on himself about his taking a "T" model Ford of his aunt's for a drive and hitting a lamp post on Mason corner. He was 12 at the time but it didn't matter that he didn't have a driver's license because nobody in Tennessee was required to have a driver's license in 1928.
And there's the story that appeared in the newspapers about that same time of the "youngest deputy" for Greene County. Tom had been out in the county with his Grandfather John Noell, who was Sheriff at the time. A fracas broke out over an illegal still (prohibition was still in effect) and shots were fired. Needless to say a certain amount of discussion took place between his mother and the Sheriff when her little boy came home with a shotgun flesh wound to the leg.
His educational career began at Roby Fitzgerald School. He used to talk about how he always had to behave in elementary school because Miss Roby rented a room in his mother's home. By the time he got to high school he had escaped Miss Roby and had gone to work for the Central Drugstore where he was a soda jerk. He also delivered prescriptions by motorcycle. After graduating Greeneville High he went on to the University of Tennessee where he lettered in swimming and cheerleading and was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. Not only did he develop a lot of close friendships in Knoxville including his future wife of 67 years, Emily Donaldson.
During his school years he also worked for the Austin Company starting in the factory on the hanging line and the picking lines just as his father and grandfather had done before him. He went on to become a leaf buyer, supervisor, then helped with sales accounts both domestic and foreign. He rose to become president of the Austin Company and a member of the Young Presidents Organization, a worldwide group of young executives. Later he would go on to be chairman of the board of the Austin Company and preside over the Company during its greatest years. His office was always open to everyone. As a result he became respected and admired throughout the company and the community.
He loved to travel more than anyone could ever imagine. During his career he sailed across the Atlantic nearly 100 times. He has been all over the world and made friends everywhere he went. After he retired he and his wife went on numerous cruises often accompanied by their children and grandchildren. Invariably the staff on the ships would cater to him because he was entertaining, pleasant and humorous. His last cruise was in November of 2013.
He was a supporter of the VFW even though he was not a member, the 4-H Camp in Greene County, served on various corporate boards of directors in the region, on the Development Board of the College of agriculture at the University of Tennessee and worked with the Greeneville / Greene County Foundation. He was a member of St. James Episcopal Church in Greeneville.
(May 11, 1916 - April 27, 2014)
Tom N Austin died Sunday morning in his home on the Asheville Highway in Greene County. He was 97.
Predeceased by his wife Emily Donaldson.
Survived by his four children: Tom Noell Austin Jr., Merrily Austin Teasley, Jay Donaldson Austin and Richard Lyon Austin; 13 grandchildren; twelve great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
The family will be receiving friends at the parish hall of St. James Episcopal Church in Greeneville at 10 o'clock Wednesday morning April 30 followed at 11 by service in the Church and burial in Oak Grove Cemetery. Doughty Stevens Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Of course these are mere statistics and cannot possibly attempt to represent the man this community has known and loved.
Because he was born so long before most of us were around, there are very few people who knew Tom Austin as a boy, but some stories have filtered down. There is a tale he told on himself about his taking a "T" model Ford of his aunt's for a drive and hitting a lamp post on Mason corner. He was 12 at the time but it didn't matter that he didn't have a driver's license because nobody in Tennessee was required to have a driver's license in 1928.
And there's the story that appeared in the newspapers about that same time of the "youngest deputy" for Greene County. Tom had been out in the county with his Grandfather John Noell, who was Sheriff at the time. A fracas broke out over an illegal still (prohibition was still in effect) and shots were fired. Needless to say a certain amount of discussion took place between his mother and the Sheriff when her little boy came home with a shotgun flesh wound to the leg.
His educational career began at Roby Fitzgerald School. He used to talk about how he always had to behave in elementary school because Miss Roby rented a room in his mother's home. By the time he got to high school he had escaped Miss Roby and had gone to work for the Central Drugstore where he was a soda jerk. He also delivered prescriptions by motorcycle. After graduating Greeneville High he went on to the University of Tennessee where he lettered in swimming and cheerleading and was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. Not only did he develop a lot of close friendships in Knoxville including his future wife of 67 years, Emily Donaldson.
During his school years he also worked for the Austin Company starting in the factory on the hanging line and the picking lines just as his father and grandfather had done before him. He went on to become a leaf buyer, supervisor, then helped with sales accounts both domestic and foreign. He rose to become president of the Austin Company and a member of the Young Presidents Organization, a worldwide group of young executives. Later he would go on to be chairman of the board of the Austin Company and preside over the Company during its greatest years. His office was always open to everyone. As a result he became respected and admired throughout the company and the community.
He loved to travel more than anyone could ever imagine. During his career he sailed across the Atlantic nearly 100 times. He has been all over the world and made friends everywhere he went. After he retired he and his wife went on numerous cruises often accompanied by their children and grandchildren. Invariably the staff on the ships would cater to him because he was entertaining, pleasant and humorous. His last cruise was in November of 2013.
He was a supporter of the VFW even though he was not a member, the 4-H Camp in Greene County, served on various corporate boards of directors in the region, on the Development Board of the College of agriculture at the University of Tennessee and worked with the Greeneville / Greene County Foundation. He was a member of St. James Episcopal Church in Greeneville.
Tom N. Austin
(May 11, 1916 - April 27, 2014)
Tom N Austin died Sunday morning in his home on the Asheville Highway in Greene County. He was 97.
Predeceased by his wife Emily Donaldson.
Survived by his four children: Tom Noell Austin Jr., Merrily Austin Teasley, Jay Donaldson Austin and Richard Lyon Austin; 13 grandchildren; twelve great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
The family will be receiving friends at the parish hall of St. James Episcopal Church in Greeneville at 10 o'clock Wednesday morning April 30 followed at 11 by service in the Church and burial in Oak Grove Cemetery. Doughty Stevens Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Of course these are mere statistics and cannot possibly attempt to represent the man this community has known and loved.
Because he was born so long before most of us were around, there are very few people who knew Tom Austin as a boy, but some stories have filtered down. There is a tale he told on himself about his taking a "T" model Ford of his aunt's for a drive and hitting a lamp post on Mason corner. He was 12 at the time but it didn't matter that he didn't have a driver's license because nobody in Tennessee was required to have a driver's license in 1928.
And there's the story that appeared in the newspapers about that same time of the "youngest deputy" for Greene County. Tom had been out in the county with his Grandfather John Noell, who was Sheriff at the time. A fracas broke out over an illegal still (prohibition was still in effect) and shots were fired. Needless to say a certain amount of discussion took place between his mother and the Sheriff when her little boy came home with a shotgun flesh wound to the leg.
His educational career began at Roby Fitzgerald School. He used to talk about how he always had to behave in elementary school because Miss Roby rented a room in his mother's home. By the time he got to high school he had escaped Miss Roby and had gone to work for the Central Drugstore where he was a soda jerk. He also delivered prescriptions by motorcycle. After graduating Greeneville High he went on to the University of Tennessee where he lettered in swimming and cheerleading and was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. Not only did he develop a lot of close friendships in Knoxville including his future wife of 67 years, Emily Donaldson.
During his school years he also worked for the Austin Company starting in the factory on the hanging line and the picking lines just as his father and grandfather had done before him. He went on to become a leaf buyer, supervisor, then helped with sales accounts both domestic and foreign. He rose to become president of the Austin Company and a member of the Young Presidents Organization, a worldwide group of young executives. Later he would go on to be chairman of the board of the Austin Company and preside over the Company during its greatest years. His office was always open to everyone. As a result he became respected and admired throughout the company and the community.
He loved to travel more than anyone could ever imagine. During his career he sailed across the Atlantic nearly 100 times. He has been all over the world and made friends everywhere he went. After he retired he and his wife went on numerous cruises often accompanied by their children and grandchildren. Invariably the staff on the ships would cater to him because he was entertaining, pleasant and humorous. His last cruise was in November of 2013.
He was a supporter of the VFW even though he was not a member, the 4-H Camp in Greene County, served on various corporate boards of directors in the region, on the Development Board of the College of agriculture at the University of Tennessee and worked with the Greeneville / Greene County Foundation. He was a member of St. James Episcopal Church in Greeneville.
(May 11, 1916 - April 27, 2014)
Tom N Austin died Sunday morning in his home on the Asheville Highway in Greene County. He was 97.
Predeceased by his wife Emily Donaldson.
Survived by his four children: Tom Noell Austin Jr., Merrily Austin Teasley, Jay Donaldson Austin and Richard Lyon Austin; 13 grandchildren; twelve great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
The family will be receiving friends at the parish hall of St. James Episcopal Church in Greeneville at 10 o'clock Wednesday morning April 30 followed at 11 by service in the Church and burial in Oak Grove Cemetery. Doughty Stevens Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Of course these are mere statistics and cannot possibly attempt to represent the man this community has known and loved.
Because he was born so long before most of us were around, there are very few people who knew Tom Austin as a boy, but some stories have filtered down. There is a tale he told on himself about his taking a "T" model Ford of his aunt's for a drive and hitting a lamp post on Mason corner. He was 12 at the time but it didn't matter that he didn't have a driver's license because nobody in Tennessee was required to have a driver's license in 1928.
And there's the story that appeared in the newspapers about that same time of the "youngest deputy" for Greene County. Tom had been out in the county with his Grandfather John Noell, who was Sheriff at the time. A fracas broke out over an illegal still (prohibition was still in effect) and shots were fired. Needless to say a certain amount of discussion took place between his mother and the Sheriff when her little boy came home with a shotgun flesh wound to the leg.
His educational career began at Roby Fitzgerald School. He used to talk about how he always had to behave in elementary school because Miss Roby rented a room in his mother's home. By the time he got to high school he had escaped Miss Roby and had gone to work for the Central Drugstore where he was a soda jerk. He also delivered prescriptions by motorcycle. After graduating Greeneville High he went on to the University of Tennessee where he lettered in swimming and cheerleading and was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. Not only did he develop a lot of close friendships in Knoxville including his future wife of 67 years, Emily Donaldson.
During his school years he also worked for the Austin Company starting in the factory on the hanging line and the picking lines just as his father and grandfather had done before him. He went on to become a leaf buyer, supervisor, then helped with sales accounts both domestic and foreign. He rose to become president of the Austin Company and a member of the Young Presidents Organization, a worldwide group of young executives. Later he would go on to be chairman of the board of the Austin Company and preside over the Company during its greatest years. His office was always open to everyone. As a result he became respected and admired throughout the company and the community.
He loved to travel more than anyone could ever imagine. During his career he sailed across the Atlantic nearly 100 times. He has been all over the world and made friends everywhere he went. After he retired he and his wife went on numerous cruises often accompanied by their children and grandchildren. Invariably the staff on the ships would cater to him because he was entertaining, pleasant and humorous. His last cruise was in November of 2013.
He was a supporter of the VFW even though he was not a member, the 4-H Camp in Greene County, served on various corporate boards of directors in the region, on the Development Board of the College of agriculture at the University of Tennessee and worked with the Greeneville / Greene County Foundation. He was a member of St. James Episcopal Church in Greeneville.
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