Thomas Ryland McCann

Tom was born in Columbus, Mississippi on May 28, 1944, to Lt. Col. Thomas and Shirley McCann. He spent his early years all over the United States and in several foreign countries as an Air Force dependent. He had fond memories of his time spent as a high school student in Hawaii, where he graduated from Kailua High School. Education was important to Tom, as he earned degrees from the University of Richmond, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and two postgraduate degrees from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He had two careers, first as a manager of municipalities and management consultant in Virginia and later serving over 30 years as Baptist minister in Dunn, Zebulon and Greenville NC, Savannah, GA, and Martinsville, Roanoke, and Richmond, VA. As one would expect, his faith was of great importance to him, and he was unapologetic about standing for those who may be marginalized by others.

An avid traveler, Tom spent many happy hours at sea as he enjoyed cruises of the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and the Panama Canal, as well as taking mission trips to Africa and Central America. His recent trips to Hawaii were precious to him as he was able to reconnect with friends from that part of his life. Through all his travels, though, a locale near to his heart was the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where he could be found sunning and reading. As a foodie, he was known to enjoy a good steak, cheese and apples every afternoon, and any kind of seafood he could acquire. He was also known to be a lover of books, any genre, and would spend hours in lively conversation as he retained facts about an absurd number of topics and could speak intelligently on many.

He was fortunate to have been married to two wonderful women, Beverly Marshall McCann who predeceased him in 2011 and was the mother of his children, and later to Dr. Glenda C. McCann who unfortunately also passed away after only a few precious years spent together. Tom is survived by three children, Jane (Eddie) Wiseman of Hickory, NC, Scott (Sally) McCann of Greenville, NC, and Stephen (Kara) McCann also of Hickory, NC; his sisters, Jackie (George) Tate and Cheri (Melvin) Burks. He also enjoyed the company of his 6 grandchildren Emily (Megan), Hailey (Reid), Hickory, Wilson and Jacob of Greenville, NC, and Abigail and Benjamin of Hickory, NC; as well as his one great-grandson Parker.

A special word of thanks to the staff of Carolina Caring Hospice and Palliative Care who provided loving care for our Dad in his final week. Your service to our family was a gift that we can never repay.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to the local food bank of your choice.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at 1:00 PM on Friday, May 15th at Drum Funeral Home Chapel in Conover, NC, with the Reverend Dr. Nelson Granade officiating.

Condolences may be left at http://www.drumfh-hickory.com

The McCann family is under the care of Drum Funeral Home