Tom Affleck, Jr., of Dunwoody, passed away peacefully after an extended illness on Thursday, January 30th, one day before his 98th birthday. At the time of his death, he was attended by his son, Thomas Affleck III of Atlanta, and his daughter, Deborah Webb of St. Augustine, Florida. Mr. Affleck’s life spanned a tumultuous period of American and world history. He was born in Jackson, Mississippi, on January 31, 1916, during the presidential administration of Woodrow Wilson. He died subsequently during the presidency of Barack Obama. Mr. Affleck was a direct descendant of the Afflecks and Baylors of Texas. His great-grandfather, Thomas Affleck of Dumfries, Scotland, emigrated to America in 1832, after receiving a formal education at the University of Edinburgh. He ultimately became one of the best known horticulturalists in pre-civil-war America. Affleck’s great grandfather, John R. Baylor, was the nephew of R.E.B. Baylor for whom Baylor University is named and who was a well-known military figure of the Civil War era in Texas. Tom Affleck’s comfortable childhood and adolescence was disrupted by the Great Depression of the 1930s, like many of his generation. He found himself forced to leave high school at the age of 16 to help support his family. A former Golden Gloves boxer, he fought professionally for a time in the South and Midwest. Mr. Affleck joked that he usually made “only enough to pay the doctor,” but did win one match that paid him $5,000, a large sum at the time. He once sparred with Henry Armstrong, one of the great boxers of that period. Mr. Affleck taught himself to fly in an old bi-plane which he bought for $100 from a barnstormer. He loved flying in the early part of his life and maintained a private pilot’s license for many years after the second World War. World War II changed Mr. Affleck’s life again when he was first drafted for a period of time as an enlisted man in the early days of the war and was engaged in a variety of clandestine assignments. He served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theatre in Australia, the Philippines, and New Guinea. Mr. Affleck received the Asiatic-Pacific Theatre Medal with one bronze star for the New Guinea campaign. He also served with the Military Police Corps in the same area. In 1943, he became an officer in the Intelligence branch of the US Army Signal Corps and was assigned to Arlington Hall Station code breaking facility, where he met his wife to be, Irene McManus in 1944. He returned again to the Pacific after they were married until December of 1945. Then in March 10, 1946, he left the active army. Upon returning to the United States and his new wife, Mr. Affleck soon settled in Jasper, Indiana where he began a business career. He advanced from working as a salesman to the owner of substantial interests in various corporations and banks. He also recruited, activated and trained the 341st MP company, a reserve Military Police Corps unit, which was the first such reserve unit in his community. Mr. Affleck ultimately obtained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army Reserves. Mr. Affleck returned to Atlanta, in approximately 1962 and remained in business for many years, working until his late 70s. He was very proud of his military service, considering it his “formal education.” He and his wife, Irene, remained married for over fifty years until she passed away in June 15, 2002. Mr. Affleck always considered his marriage his greatest accomplishment. Mr. Affleck is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Thomas Affleck III and Louisa Affleck of Dunwoody, his daughter and son-in-law, Deborah and Dave Webb of St. Augustine, Florida, and five grandchildren, Allison and Sarah Affleck of Dunwoody, Jennifer Childs of Conyers and Joshua Gould of Dacula, as well as four great-grandchildren. The funeral will take place on Sunday, February 2, 2014 at 2pm at H.M. Patterson & Son Oglethorpe Hill the family will receive friends one hour prior. Interment will follow in Decatur Cemetery.
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