Thomas Worthington Gower

Thomas Worthington Gower
Mr. Gower, 88, formerly of Grifton, NC, passed away in his home in Charlotte, NC on December 29, 2007. Mr. Gower has been a resident at Sardis Oaks Nursing Home for the past four years.
A memorial service will be held on at 2 p.m. Thursday, January 3, 2008 at St. John's Episcopal Church, 2000 Cannon Price Road, Grifton, NC. The family will receive friends following the service at The Depot in Grifton.
Before serving two years in the U.S. Army during WWII, Tom attended N.C. State University. He joined his father, as partner and later as sole owner of Gower's Store, a retail grocery business in Grifton. Tom also owned and leased several farms in Eastern North Carolina. He attended St. John's/St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Grifton for 82 years and served as an active vestry member. Tom was also a life member of the Grifton Masonic Lodge #243.
Tom will be remembered by his loving family and many friends for his warmth, his kindness, and unending generosity towards others. His sense of humor and genuine infectious smile will be treasured by all who were fortunate enough to know him.
Tom was predeceased by his parents, Eleanor Worthington Gower and Waldo Henry Gower and his grandson, Whitten Walter Scholtz, IV.
He is survived by his loving wife of 59 years, Lynn Dudley Gower, of Atria of MerryWood in Charlotte; his daughter, Betty Lynn Scholtz, and her husband, Walter, of Charlotte; his son, Rusty Gower and his wife, Diane, of Avon, CT. Tom, affectionately known by many as "B-papa Tom," leaves behind countless cherished memories to his three grandchildren, Lynn Scholtz Roberts of Chapel Hill, NC and Nicholas Thomas Gower and Jessica Marie Gower of Avon, CT. On Tom's 88th birthday he was blessed with his first and only great granddaughter, Zoe Lynn Roberts of Chapel Hill.
Mr. Gower's family would like to thank the staff at Sardis Oaks for their loving care and many acts of kindness shown towards Tom.
Visitation will be held at Wilkerson Funeral Home, Greenville, NC from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, January 2, 2008.
In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that contributions, in Tom's memory, be made to St. John's Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 937, Grifton, NC 28530.