Thomas Wilson

Thomas Huey Wilson, Sr., 86, of 1416 Cumberland Circle, Rockingham died Saturday, September 22, 2007 at First Health Richmond Memorial Hospital in Rockingham. Funeral services will be conducted 2:00 pm Monday, September 24th at First Presbyterian Church with Rev. Dwight Williams, Rev. Bobby Haney and Rev. Chris Hawks officiating and interment to follow in Eastside cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 pm Sunday at Carter Funeral Home in Rockingham. Tom was born September 10, 1921 in Chesterfield SC, a son of the late Henry Eugene and Louise Huey Wilson. He was a 1938 graduate of Chesterfield High School, where he started as center for the Bulldogs’ football squad during his junior and senior years, and a 1942 graduate of Presbyterian College, where he participated in basketball. He is survived by a daughter, Linda Wilson Ward and husband Emmett, of Durham, a son, Thomas Huey Wilson, Jr., of Rockingham; four grandchildren, Vaughn Schermerhorn and wife Janell, Patrick Schermerhorn and friend Melinda McNeil, Audra Mayton Cox and husband Dave, and Meredith Isenhour Wilson and fiancé Justin Elliott; one great grandchild, Myles Cox; and one brother, Robert Powe Wilson and wife Nan of Charlotte. Tom was preceded in death by his wife of 33 years, Virginia Shoaf Wilson, on January 16, 1981; two brothers, Henry Eugene Wilson, Jr. in 2002 and Robert James Wilson in 1919; and a sister, Mary Louise Wilson in 1921. Tom’s love of his church, his country, and his community was demonstrated by the deep roots of service and devotion which he planted in each. Shortly after the outbreak of World War II, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U. S. Army and assigned to the China-Burma-India theatre of operations where he spent four years Chinese troops in their efforts to oust the Japanese. He was discharged in 1946 with the rank of major. Following his military service, Tom was employed by the Hardware Association of the Carolinas where he traveled throughout the region before his association with the Duvall and Rockingham Hardware stores brought him to Rockingham in 1947, where he later assumed ownership of Rockingham Hardware. He became renowned for his vast knowledge, and carved a niche in the business as the man to see for hard-to-find items. Beyond his business, Tom enjoyed his membership in the Civitans where he served as secretary for one year. He especially cherished his 60-year association with First Presbyterian Church where he served as a Ruling Elder, and for several years as Clerk of the Session. Though he contended cataracts, glaucoma, and other severe encroachments of advancing age, including the lingering effects of the pulmonary disease, which he contracted during his wartime service on the Burma Road, Tom never surrendered his sense of humor, his love of family, nor his concern for the many friendships he had established personally and professionally. He could even be counted upon, until his final days, for an informed conversation about the various sports he loved. Pallbearers selected to participate in Mr. Wilson’s service are Patrick Schermerhorn, Vaughn Schermerhorn, Dave Cox, Justin Elliott, Doug Smith, James Baldwin, and Jay Baldwin, Memorials may be made to First Presbyterian Church, 904 Fayetteville Road, Rockingham, NC 28379.