He graduated from Woodberry Forest. At Princeton he played freshman football and basketball and JV football, majored in economics, and belonged to Cottage.
After his Air Force service, he joined his father’s North Carolina business, Wilkes Hosiery Mill. He remained with the business when it was acquired by Hanes Hosiery and eventually became vice president of manufacturing. In 1974 he and an associate purchased Edmac, an industrial distribution company, in which his two sons are still active.
Though remembered first as a family man, he volunteered with the Red Cross and United Way and was active in the Winston-Salem Rotary Club. True to his North Carolina birth state, he was an ardent Tarheel sports fan,
Tom is survived by his wife of 69 years, Lou; daughter Louise; sons Tom Jr. and Robert; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.