Thomas Dunlevy Yeaglin

1939 - 2019

Thomas Dunlevy Yeaglin

Germantown - Thomas Dunlevy Yeaglin, a longtime resident of Germantown, Tennessee, died on December 3, 2019 after a long illness. Tom was born on April 15, 1939, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to parents, Thomas Harding Yeaglin and Eleanor Dunlevy Yeaglin. He moved as a child to Memphis, Tennessee and resided here for the remainder of his lifetime. Tom attended high school at Christian Brothers High School before attending both the University of Tennessee and Memphis State University for undergraduate studies. While at Memphis State, Tom became a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, and made many lifelong friends. He then attended Vanderbilt University for law school, graduating in 1965.

Tom worked at Armstrong Allen for most of the first two decades of his legal practice before hanging up his own shingle in the early 1980s. Tom continued working as an attorney until 2019, when he concluded a wonderful and satisfying fifty-four years of practice. While he focused primarily on product liability cases during his career, Tom was very comfortable in many areas of legal practice. The law was a true passion, and arguing in a court of law was one of his favorite things in life. He genuinely cared for all of his clients, and had a fervent sense of justice and compassion. Tom also enjoyed teaching classes at the night law program at the University of Memphis, and was proud to have helped contribute to the education of his students. He loved the art of debate and taught his children from a young age always to hear both sides of the story before forming an opinion.

Tom was known for his sense of humor mixed with mischievousness. He had a personality that could fill up a room. Even given those traits, he was a simple man without a large ego. He loved his children, his wife, his work and he loved sports. Boy, did he love sports. He played many during his life, but also loved to watch them or even attend games. College football was his favorite. He loved Saturdays in the fall. He was an outspoken fan of the Southeastern Conference and the University of Memphis. He did not like teams from Columbus, Ohio, Lincoln, Nebraska, State College, Pennsylvania, or South Bend, Indiana. His sons remain ravenous sports fans, largely due to his passion. Many of their conversations with their father consisted only of sports jargon, to the possible chagrin of others less enamored with the games.

Tom married Linda Warren in 1972, and they were married for almost 20 years. Linda brought three children to their marriage, Steve O'Donnell, Sean O'Donnell and Sharon Burnap. Tom and Linda had two sons together, Thomas D. Yeaglin and Timothy D. Yeaglin. All five of them were fortunate to know and love Tom. Tom was a fantastic father. He often said his greatest joy in life was raising their children. Even towards the end, he was known to stop and say, "We had a great time."

In 2008, Tom married Linda Ruth Robinson. Tom loved Linda, and cherished his time with her. They enjoyed traveling together (especially to Destin, Florida), dining and social events. As Tom struggled with illness, Linda was always there for him.

Tom is preceded in death by his parents, Thomas and Eleanor. He is survived by his wife, Linda Robinson Yeaglin, his sister, Eleanor (Andre) Goodchild, his former spouse, Linda Warren, his children, Steven O'Donnell, Sean O'Donnell and Sharon Burnap, Thomas (Patti Katz) Yeaglin and Timothy (Kiley) Yeaglin, and his grandson, Thomas "Fritz" Yeaglin.

Visitation for Tom will take place on Thursday, December 12, 2019 from 5:00 until 7:00 in the evening at Memorial Park Funeral Home. The funeral mass will be held at St. Louis Catholic Church on Friday, December 13, 2019 at 10:00 in the morning. A reception will follow at St. Louis Catholic Church. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or Shriner's Hospitals. Any such donations would be greatly appreciated.