Thomas Lynn Ewing's Obituary
Thomas Lynn Ewing was born to Pauline and Robert Ewing on April 11, 1946 in Titusville, PA. He was the 5th of 8 children. He attended school in Pleasantville, PA. While at Pleasantville High School he discovered a love and talent for basketball and was introduced to carpentry by his shop teacher, Jim Kantor. During one of his shop classes, Mr. Kantor was showing his students how to lay the foundation of a house when Tom inquired why they would ever need to know that…
On 12/7/1965 Tom enlisted in the United States Air Force and served until 7/4/1969. During his service in the Air Force he was stationed in Thailand for part of the Vietnam War. Tom’s experience serving our country through this time shaped much of his life as it did for many service men and women. He developed a deep love for his country and support for fellow veterans and service members. Upon his return to the states, Tom moved from PA to Orlando, FL where he worked in carpentry and was part of the construction teams of Walt Disney World and Sea World. In 1974 he met a beautiful, blonde, Vacation Bible School teacher Nancy Albertson. They were married Jan 4th 1975. Tom and Nancy had 2 daughters, Elizabeth and Jennifer. In 1976 Tom completed construction of the first family home in Orlando. (Thank goodness he learned how to lay that foundation). In 1978, Tom and Nancy decided to leave Orlando and purchased 60 acres in Russellville, TN where Tom built the 2nd family home. In 1981 Tom graduated Summa Cum Laude with an Associate of Science degree from Walter State Community College, while simultaneously running his custom cabinet shop out of his garage. He also served during this time as assistant director of Operation Survival, a program for at risk youth. Tom continued his education at the University of TN-Knoxville. There he introduced his wife and daughters to UT football. He graduated from UT with high honors, receiving his BS in Education in 1984. He completed his Master’s Degree in 1986 also at UT. During this time, Tom began working with IASA, later becoming TSA-Technology Student Association. During his time with TSA, he supported youth interested in industrial arts, technology, and leadership. For 24 years Tom traveled all over the country for the State, Regional and National TSA conferences. He developed and hosted the Technology Bowl, one of the most popular events in TSA history. Tom owned and operated Oakwood Custom Cabinets in his shop on AJ Hwy in Morristown, TN. Tom continued to mentor young people over the years, always encouraging pursuit of higher education and leadership. As empty nesters, Tom and Nancy moved back to Florida. He was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia in 2015 and after some planning, he and Nancy moved to a retirement home in Germantown, TN to be near their daughter Jennifer and her family. Tom passed away in his home on June 23rd, 2020 with the love and care of his wife Nancy, their daughter Jennifer, and the support of Hospice.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his sisters Joanne, Connie and Anita; brother Rod; along with a host of other family members he loved very much. He is survived by his wife Nancy, daughters Elizabeth (Dan) and Jennifer (Chad), and his grandkids Stella, Josh, Ella and Emma who were his pride and joy. He’s also survived by his sisters Nancy (Steve) and Cindy, brother Tim (Michal), and a slew of his in-laws, nieces and nephews whom he loved and cared about deeply. Tom always said “family takes care of family” and he lived that out all his days with love, compassion, patience and kindness. He will be greatly missed.
The family will receive relatives and friends on Monday, June 29, 2020 from 12:00 pm until the time of the Celebration of Life Service at 1:00 pm which will be held at Getwell Church, 7875 Getwell Road in Southaven, MS.
The family requests that attendees wear red, white and/or blue in honor of Tom’s military service. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Cure PSP, an organization that studies dementia. For more information on donations please visit the link below:
https://www.psp.org/iwanttohelp/ways-to-give/
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