Thomas Lee Agner

"As for me and my house we will serve the lord." Joshua 24:15 Thomas Lee (Tommy) Agner, of Vinton, Va., died on Friday, April 9, 2010, following a long battle with Parkinson's disease. Tom was preceded in death by his grandparents, Abe and Lula Jordan and Raymond and Julia Agner; his beloved mother, Ruth Agner Temple; his father, Elton Junior Agner; his stepfather, Marion Temple; and a brother, Gerald "Buddy" Agner.
Surviving are his wife of 36 years, Daphenia Jo "Daffy" Almany Agner; a son, Stephen Thomas Agner, of Vinton; a daughter, Vicki Lee Grant and her husband, Rick; a granddaughter, Rebekah Lee Grant, all of Blue Ridge; a brother, Don Agner and his wife, Jane, of Sterling, Va.; and his trusted friend and companion, Spaz, the cat.
Tom was born in Vinton on April 5, 1938, and lived for a part of his childhood in Washington, D.C., returning to Vinton around the age of nine. He lived with his grandparents, Abe and Lula until 1956, when he returned to Washington to take his first job in the office of the Secretary of the Air Force at the Pentagon. He worked for the Federal Government a total of 31 years, retiring in 2000 from the Department of Veterans Affairs in Roanoke. Along the way, he also worked for the Roanoke City Police Department, Arlington Baptist Church and Faith Chapel.
Tom was an ordained minister and served the Lord from the time he was a young man. He never stopped serving even as his health deteriorated and he became homebound. At that time, he began writing poetry and preparing outlines for Bible study. His work was used in many ways around the country and even around the world as his good friend, Mike Twitchell, took his written words on his missionary journeys. Tom's ministry reached farther after he was confined to home than it ever did before.
Tom was a graduate of Washington Bible College and William Byrd High School. He recalled with humor being one of the "iron men" the starting five for the Terrier's varsity basketball team. They were given that nickname by a sportswriter in the 1955 to 1956 season, when they played an entire game without any substitutions and won breaking a 19 game Jefferson High winning streak.
His greatest fulfillment was in his children, who gave him so much joy and he prayed over them faithfully every day of their lives. There never was a more gentle or caring man. He loved the Lord, his family and friends, the Boston Celtics, Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls, Washington Redskins football and whatever team was playing against the Dallas Cowboys.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Tom's memory to the work of the Construction Teams Ministry, Advancing Native Missions, Post Office Box 5303, Charlottesville, Va. 22905. www.adnamis.org.
The family wishes to thank the angels at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, 10 Mountain, 105 Palliative Care, and Carilion Hospice for helping Tom die with dignity and for your love and support.
Funeral services will be conducted 3 p.m. on Monday, April 12, 2010, at Lotz Vinton Chapel with Tom's good friend and mentor, the Reverend Jack Jackson, officiating; his dear friend and best man, Mike Twitchell, will deliver the eulogy. Interment will follow in Mountain View Cemetery. The family will receive friends on Sunday, April 11, 2010, from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home. Arrangements by Lotz Funeral Home, Vinton Chapel. Online condolences may be forwarded to the family at www.lotzfuneralhome.com.