Tom Donnelly

Arden – Tom Donnelly, 89, of Arden, North Carolina, passed away quietly on the evening of Tuesday, July 19, 2016, in a room illuminated by the light of the setting sun. Around him were his beautiful wife of 64 years, Nell, and their three children, Rick, Linda and LeeAnn. Tom was born May 29, 1927, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Milton Stephen and Nelle Trippe Thomas Donnelly. He was their only child but grew up with a bevy of cousins and the doting attention of his mother's three older sisters. After graduation from Chattanooga City High School in 1945, Tom served in the U.S. Navy. That time became the stuff of frequent storytelling, particularly his time spent in China. He also served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve briefly during the Korean Conflict. After Navy service Tom enrolled at David Lipscomb College in Nashville, Tennessee. He later transferred to Howard College (now Samford University) in Birmingham, Alabama, to pursue Pharmacy, an interest that had its roots in his teen years working as a soda jerk in his uncle's Chattanooga drugstore, Lee Pharmacy. He graduated from Howard College McWhorter School of Pharmacy in 1951. It was at Howard College where Tom met Nell Sanders Nunnelley, a psychology major from Birmingham. The two dated, fell in love and eventually married on April 19, 1952. According to family legend, their first date took place in a coffee shop where Tom asked Nell, "If I told you you had a good body would you hold it against me?" Tom possessed a self-described cornpone sense of humor, "cornpone" being one of his favorite words. Tom and Nell lived briefly in Cleveland, Tennessee, before settling in Chattanooga. At the time Tom was working as a pharmaceutical sales representative for E.R. Squibb and Sons. Rick and Linda were born in Chattanooga, and the family later moved to Asheville when Squibb changed his sales territory. The couple welcomed their third child, LeeAnn, several years after the move to Asheville. After leaving Squibb and working at Adams-Blauvelt Pharmacy in downtown Asheville, Tom bought and operated Service Drugs of Asheville in Biltmore Village for several years before working for and eventually retiring from Revco Drug Stores in 1992. Retirement didn't last long. Tom realized that despite his love of playing golf he missed work. He worked his own part-time schedule for locally owned pharmacies such as Allison's Pharmacy, Lord's Drug Store and B & B Pharmacy. He retired for good just two years ago at the age of 87. Tom was a long-time member of First Christian Church in downtown Asheville. In recent years he attended Avery's Creek Christian Church. One of Tom's greatest loves was music, and singing was a constant in his life. He was a proud member of the Asheville chapter of SPEBSQSA (Society for Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America), sang in the church choir and continuously hummed and harmonized with everything from a distant train whistle to the opening credits of ABC World NewsTonight. Tom was a life-long avid reader and constantly had books in the works. His favorite topics were history (particularly Civil War history), astronomy and current affairs. He loved dogs and never met one he didn't like. Moreover, dogs loved him madly. Tom is survived by his wife, Nell Nunnelley Donnelly; son Richard Stephen Donnelly; daughter Linda Nell Donnelly Driggs; son-in-law Ted L. Driggs; and daughter LeeAnn Donnelly. A celebration of this remarkable man's life will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 30, 2016 at Groce Funeral Home Lake Julian, 72 Long Shoals Rd. in Arden. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests that donations be made to Meals on Wheels of Asheville and Buncombe County or the Asheville Humane Society.