Thomas Wellman Greenwood's Obituary
Thomas Wellman Greenwood, 89, of Collierville, TN passed away surrounded by family on July 5, 2022.
Mr. Greenwood was born on January 23, 1933, in Berkeley Springs, WV to Rev. Lawrence Greenwood and Dorothy Hillman Greenwood. He was the middle child of three boys.
Mr. Greenwood is preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Rev. Larry Greenwood.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Harriet Greenwood, his son, Mark (Marti) Greenwood, his daughters, Vicki (Mark) Bowen and Melissa (Will) Seay, his grandchildren, Johnny Schommer, Channon Malkin, Nathan Bowen, Danielle Bowen, Isabel Seay, and Charlotte Seay, his great-grandchildren, Kala Malkin, and Logan Leach, and his brother, Frank (Edna) Greenwood of Grapevine, TX. Mr. Greenwood left behind several nieces and nephews as well.
Mr. Greenwood spent most of his early years in various cities in West Virginia.
He played basketball all through grade school and college and later enjoyed playing with his son Mark in their driveway. His father and his brother Larry were Methodist ministers. He was very involved in the Methodist church and had been an active member of Germantown United Methodist Church since moving to Tennessee in 1973.
Mr. Greenwood graduated from Morris Harvey College in Charleston, West Virginia in 1955. In March of 1957 he started with S.S. Kresge as stockman in Baltimore, MA, moving quickly through the managerial training to become an Assistant Manager in August 1957 in Essex, MA. On Valentines Day 1958 he married Harriet Ware. He then worked as an assistant manager in several Kresge stores in various cities in New York. By February 1968 he had worked his way up to manager in the Springfield, VA store. He began working his way south with the Kresge/Kmart corporation opening and managing stores in Georgia, Texas, and finally Tennessee. In October 1973 he opened the Summer Ave. Kmart in Memphis, TN as manager. This became one of the top grossing stores in the region. He was manager there until his retirement from Kmart in May 1987 after 30 years at Kresge and Kmart. In June 1987 Mr. Greenwood opened his own business, Deluxe Auto Renewal. He later retired for a second time and closed his business.
Mr. Greenwood was an avid bowler after moving to TN and he excelled at it. He had a High Average, High Game, and High Series in most leagues he played in. He loved the West Virginia mountains, camping with the family, and generally being outdoors. He could build or repair anything and in his free time could be found working on cars or tinkering around the house. He was adventurous and fearless with a dry sense of humor and a quick wit. He will be missed by the many who knew and loved him.
Services will be held on Monday, December 5th at Germantown United Methodist Church. 10am visitation with an 11am service.
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