William Holmes Tomlinson

Colonel William H. Tomlinson, U.S. Army Retired, of Jacksonville, Florida, passed away peacefully on 23 August 2021 at the age of 99. He is survived by his loving wife of 44 years, Suzanne. He was preceded by his mother and father, Hugh Oscar Tomlinson and Lucy Holmes Tomlinson, his brother, Hugh Pat Tomlinson, his first wife Dorothy Payne, the mother of his three children: daughter Jane Brightbill of Tallahassee, Fla., her husband David, and their two children, Amanda Antonmattei (Jose) and Joseph Gray; daughter Lucy Wallace of Jacksonville, FL., her husband Waddell and their two sons, Nathaniel Gray and Jonathan Axtell (Ari) and son William Payne Tomlinson. He is also survived by Suzanne’s daughters, Katherine and Gina Gill, and six great-grandchildren.

Colonel Tomlinson was born on 12 April 1922, in Thornton, Arkansas. He spent most of his formative years in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he was a JROTC leader and Eagle Scout, graduating from Byrd High School in 1938.

During a year at Centenary College in Shreveport, he was initiated into Alpha Iota Chapter of Kappa Alpha Order fraternity. In 1939, he earned a congressional appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point and joined the corps of cadets that summer. Upon graduation from West Point in June of 1943, he participated in plans for the D-Day invasion, but was later transferred to the Pacific Theatre and joined the Americal Division’s 246th Field Artillery Battalion. He participated in the Leyte operation and the amphibious assault and liberation of Cebu, Philippines. After VJ Day, his battery occupied a sector of Yokohama, Japan, September-October 1945; followed by three years as an aide-de-camp to the Eighth Army Commander, Lieut. General Robert L. Eichelberger. He subsequently commanded artillery units of the 325th Airborne Regimental Combat Team and 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Georgia, the 9th Infantry Division in Germany and Fort Carson, Colorado, and the 7th Infantry Division in the Republic of Korea, where he commanded the 2nd Bn./8th Artillery and the 7th Division Artillery. He served as gunnery instructor at the Field Artillery School (1951-1954) and later graduated from the Air Command and Staff College (1958) and the Army War College (1966).

In the Pentagon, he served in the Office of the Under Secretary of the Army and the Office of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel. He earned an MBA from the University of Alabama (1960), and an MS in International Studies from the George Washington University (1966) in Washington, DC. After serving on the faculty of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF) (1966-1972) and graduating from the 56th Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School (1968, 1969), he received his Ph.D. in Business Administration from the American University in Washington, DC (1974). While at ICAF, he organized and conducted international field study projects in Central and South America, the Middle East, and Scandinavia.

In October 1972, he joined the Charter faculty of University of North Florida (UNF) where he was recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award (1997) and Service Award (2001). While there, he was a visiting professor at the University of Glasgow, Scotland (1987), and lectured at Moscow State Univ in Ulyanovsk, and the Moscow Linguistic Institute’s Plekhanov Academy of Economics, in Russia following the dissolution of the USSR.

As a Professor of Management at UNF, Dr. Tomlinson co-authored texts in international business and strategic management and was active in numerous organizations including Beta Gamma Sigma. He was awarded lifetime accreditation as a Senior Professional in Human Resources Management (SPHR) and played an active role in UNF’s SHRM chapter. In the field of emergency executive manpower, he served 25 years in the National Defense Executive Reserve, part of the Office of Emergency Preparedness/Federal Emergency Management Agency. In 2002, he was made a UNF Professor Emeritus.

Throughout his long life, Dr. Tomlinson often participated as a key member of many organizations involved in community service and historical interests: The Rotary Club of Riverside, The Company of Military Historians, the National Eagle Scout Association, Boy Scouts of America, The Rotary Foundation, the Scottish Rite Masons, Jacksonville Campus Ministry, the Military Order of the Stars and Bars, First Presbyterian Church of Jacksonville, Kappa Alpha Order Fraternity, the Saint Andrew’s Society, the Stewart Society of Edinburgh, Scotland, and Sons of the American Revolution.

Col. Tomlinson enjoyed spending time with his family. He was a loving father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He was affectionately known as “Pop” to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Going to the farmers market with Pop was always a special treat. He enjoyed cheering on his grandchildren at numerous sporting events. He loved having them help in his vegetable garden. Pop instilled an appreciation for trees and plants. He simply loved having his hands in God’s good earth. Pop, we will miss you forever and ever.

A Graveside Service will be held on Friday, September 3, 2021 at 11AM at Evergreen Cemetery, 4535 N. Main St., Jacksonville, FL 32206.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hgriversidefuneralhome.com for the TOMLINSON family.