Thomas C. Kiser

Thomas “Tommy” Crowell Kiser, age 82 of the Oakdale Community passed away February 12, 2013 at Presbyterian Hospital in Huntersville. Funeral services will be at 3:00PM Friday in Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church, Reverends Billy Towery and Phil Turner officiating. Visitation will be from 1:00-3:00PM at the church. Interment will be in Pleasant Grove Memorial Park. Tommy was born December 29, 1930 in Mecklenburg County to William Bruce Kiser and Gwendolyn Crowell Kiser. He grew up in the Sharon Community, attending Sharon Presbyterian Church and graduating from Sharon High School in 1949.

As a young man he was well known as an accomplished athlete, being both proficient in baseball and basketball. Tommy was a great lover of golf. He still loved to watch his Carolina Tar Hills basketball to this day. He was preceded in death by his siblings, William Bruce Kiser “Buddy” and Elizabeth Carolyn Kiser Russell. He is survived by his beloved wife of over 57 years, Vivian Nixon Kiser. He met Vivian in 1954 and they were married in November of 1955. They spent their early married years in Sharon, later moving to the Oakdale Community, and then to the Long Creek Community in 1966, where they remained at the family home until the present. He is also survived by his daughter, Patty Kiser and husband, Ronnie of Denver, NC and son, Jeffrey Kiser of London, UK. After as short stint at Wingate College and Appalachian College, he entered military service in the US Army during the Korean War. He held the rank of Mess Sgt.,where his love of cooking still endured until the present. Tommy was employed by the U. S. Postal Service and retired after 37 years. He was a mail carrier where he was trusted and beloved by the local population in the Westchester neighborhood in West Charlotte. He was a third degree Mason and a long- time member of the Long Creek Masonic Lodge. He was also a popular Shriner, a member of the Oasis Temple of Charlotte, where he was a member of the Royal Order of Jesters. He was also, when his health still allowed for such, an accomplished gardener, producing in the rich Long Creek soil an abundance of produce, that he spent much of his time giving and delivering the surplus to friends, neighbors and relatives. No one ever went without fresh tomatoes, squash, or corn if Tommy Kiser had anything to do with it. Mr. Kiser will be best remembered for his generosity of spirit and his infectious wit. His Pallbearers will be his Nephews. Honorary will be the Oasis Patrol. Memorials may be made to Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church, Family Life Center or the Shriners Children’s Hospital. Offer condolence through www.forestlawnwest.com