Uncle Tom was one of the finest examples I have known of what a man should be.

He grew up in a family with three brothers and three sisters.  His parents (my paternal grandparents) were hard working and strong willed.  When the children were still young, the family moved from north Georgia to east Tennessee, where they could live near a good school.  Like most families of their generation, they experienced hard times during the Depression.  The four boys worked in the fields, when work was to be found.  The difficult conditions were no doubt a factor in Uncle Tom’s decision to join the Navy.

True to his heritage, Uncle Tom was always a hard worker.  Whether the task was to shut down flooded boilers in a torpedoed destroyer, or to take care of his house and garden, when he was a 103 year-old widowed man, in whatever he undertook, he was personally committed to success.

What made him special for me was his even-tempered, open-minded approach to life.  This characteristic was not common in the ridges of east Tennessee, then, and it is rare across the country, today.  Tom Fuller exemplified what it means to be a gentleman.



Uncle Tom was my favorite Uncle.  We seemed to connect on so many things.  I will miss our near weekly phone conversations that sometimes only lasted a few minutes and other times for a hour or more.  I think we covered almost all our family histories as well as most current events and politics.  He enjoyed listening to me talk about my horses and farm, my hunting and fishing exploits, both of our love for the country life, his experiences of plowing the fields with a mule and how he enjoyed it so much -working with and connecting to the animal as a team.  We talked about everything from his service with the NAVY both before and after WWII, to our families lives both good and bad from years ago to the present.  We talked about our accomplishments and our failures, our happy times and times filled with sorrow.  He told me his favorite memory from his childhood was riding in a horse drawn wagon with his Grandfather Adams, hauling peaches to the market.  What a wonderful memory.  He was always a Gentleman and cherished a simple easy going way of life, yet had the ability to solve the most complex problems.
     His mind was amazingly sharp right to his last days.  He was a fantastic listener and never judgmental-at least to me.  I am going to miss you Uncle Tom-I will never forget.

I meant to sat bronze cross........... I   am getting old too.

Uncle Tom was a hero in WW2. He received the Iron Cross for saving the lives of over 10 people when his destroyer was was hit by the Japanese Navy. 

Once when we visited  him and Aunt Linnie I took videos of his home  and his beautiful flower gardens and orange trees overlooking the valley below. They were full of fun and wanted to go to lunch. They talked about their love of square dancing.Lunch was great and our son was amazed with how cool they were.

He my last was my last surviving Uncle....103 and close to 104. He was a great man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OBITUARY

Thomas Henry Fuller

14 October, 1916 – 19 July, 2020

El Camino Memorial - Sorrento Valley & El Camino Memorial Park

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