Tom J. Vandergriff

1926 - 2010

Tom J. Vandergriff, 84, passed away Thursday, Dec. 30, 2010, of natural causes after a long, active and fruitful life. Memorial service: 1 to 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 7, at Texas Hall on the University of Texas-Arlington Campus. Public visitation: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 6, at the Tarrant County Sub-Courthouse in Arlington. Burial: Private family burial in Moore Memorial Gardens following a private family service at First United Methodist Church. A memorial register book will be available to sign for those who are unable to attend the scheduled services from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday at Wade Family Funeral Home, 4140 W. Pioneer Parkway, Arlington. Memorials: Tom would be pleased to have his memory honored with a gift in lieu of flowers to the Alzheimer's Association of Tarrant County, North Central Texas Chapter, 101 Summit Ave., Suite 300, Fort Worth, Texas 76102; the Tom Vandergriff Endowed Scholarship Fund, UTA Box 19198, Arlington, Texas 76019-0198; or a charity of your choice. Tom Vandergriff was born in Carrollton on Jan. 29, 1926. He moved to Arlington in May of 1937 with his family when his father, W.T. "Hooker" Vandergriff, was offered a new Chevrolet dealership in town. Then 11-year-old Tom did not want to move to Arlington. He wanted to remain in Carrollton and visit his father; mother, Charles; and sister, Virginia, on the weekends. Thankfully for Tom, his mother and father would not hear of that. Charles, Hooker and his beloved sister, Ginger, were a constant source of encouragement, support and strength for him throughout his life. He could not have achieved what he did in life without them. Vandergriff learned from his youth that a man's greatest asset may be his determination. It was a lesson that he never forgot. As a boy, he stuttered terribly. It was both frightening and frustrating. His mother drove him over to Dallas for speech therapy training. After several long years of battle he overcame the handicap. Vandergriff said "I was determined to learn to talk and talk well. Within me was born the ambition to talk for a living." Tom graduated from the University of Southern California in 1947 intent on pursuing a career in broadcast journalism. Upon graduation he applied to a Los Angeles radio station for a job as a newscaster. Vandergriff said that that time he thought he had a good chance at getting the job. In fact, "I did not think my competition was as good as me." Despite his belief Vandergriff's competition got the position. Vandergriff said that "he was quite discouraged by this turn of events" so he returned to Texas to work for his father in his expanding automobile business. Vandergriff said that over time he came to realize that he should not have considered the loss so disastrous; his competition was Chet Huntley. Broadcast journalism lost Tom Vandergriff as a career reporter and newscaster, but new opportunities of interest soon developed back home in Arlington. The first and foremost interest he rekindled was with his teenage sweetheart, Anna Waynette Smith. Tom fell for Anna Waynette on Nov. 5, 1942, when he heard "this girl with a little split-nosed, dressed up like a million in a red dress that was second in beauty only to the girl herself" sing "Moonlight Becomes You." A few days later he sent her enough red roses and white gardenias to "break the record" at Cannon Floral Shop. Tom and Anna Waynette were married on March 19, 1949, at First Methodist Church. None of Tom's accomplishments in life would have been possible without Anna Waynette's unwavering support. They were not separated on this earth again until Anna Waynette's death on July 4, 2009. Their boundless and ageless love has now been reunited in soul and spirit. Anna Waynette and Tom had five children, Vanessa, Victor, Valerie, Viveca and Vaughn William. They lost Vaughn William in 1967 three days after his birth. In his own words he now wants to remind his four children how much he was devoted to them. Tom's support of them was just as strong and deep as it was for all his business and civic endeavors. Collectively in his love and specifically in his support of each of them as unique individuals he never forgot them. "We honestly did not have a normal family life. Family times were generally on trips and quite often those trips were interrupted in some manner by my community responsibilities. We did not have many opportunities to be together when I was in Arlington because there was always some function to which I felt I must go to. Yet, I believe, I hope and pray, that the few times that we were together that you did sense and understand the depth of my love for you, that there is an assurance in your mind that I have always have your interest at heart, and if there was a need on your part, that I would be available." His children did know of his love and availability without question. Tom had five wonderful grandchildren, Katharine, Kendell, Rachel, Parker and Caroline. He doted on them. What play time and events he may have missed with his children he more than made up for it in his attention and play time with his grandchildren. To them, he was just "Granddad." He loved getting the opportunity to enjoy and participate in their childhood years in a manner that he missed with his own children. He was proud of their many accomplishments and was excited about their respective futures. He enjoyed the company of and loved his daughter-in-law, Kristin, and his sons-in-law, Mark and Paul, as if they were his own. He was proud of each of you. Tom grew up in the car business and went to work in earnest on his second career path with his father at the Vandergriff dealerships upon his return from college. He had a passion for and interest in the car business that continued throughout his life even after he had long left the day-to-day management of the Vandergriff dealerships. What he loved was to help people with their transportation needs by selling them a car. He never lost that desire. From the 1940s until the 1990s he was the main "pitchman" for the Vandergriff dealerships. After his last term as Tarrant County judge ended at the end of 2006 his life came full circle when he resumed his "pitchman" role for Vandergriff Toyota. He was honored to be asked to help. He was excited to do it because he "missed the business." It was his interest in and passion for building the Vandergriff business and solving people's transportation needs that led to his third and most enduring career path â€" public service. Partial Listing of Positions Held: President, Arlington Chamber of Commerce - 1949-51 Mayor, City of Arlington, Texas - 1951-1977 Member, SMU Board of Trustees Founding and First Chairman, North Central Texas Council of Governments - 1966 Chairman, Tarrant County Convention Center during its planning and construction of the center Member and Chairman, Tarrant County United Fund Member, President Lyndon B. Johnson's White House Commission on Urban Problems - 1967-68 Chairman, Texas Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations - 1970-71 Chairman, Texas Urban Development Commission Member and Chairman of the Board (1968)- Arlington Memorial Hospital - 1955-2006 Member, United States Congress - 1983-1985 County Judge, Tarrant County - 1991-2006 Partial Listing of Awards: Each and every award and honor held equal status with Tom - He kept and treasured all of them. Awards of Special Significance: Texas Jaycees - Five Outstanding Young Texans - 1953 Citizen of the Year at various time in Arlington, Dallas and Fort Worth National Service Award, presented by the Texas Association of Home Health Agencies Legislator of the Year, American College of Emergency Physicians Distinguished Service Award, Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Outstanding Citizen for Seniors, Senior Citizen Services of Greater Tarrant County Medal of Honor Award, Daughters of the American Revolution Member, Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame - 2004 Inductee Statutes in his honor at City Hall, Arlington, and The Ballpark in Arlington Vandergriff Tower, Arlington Memorial Hospital What Tom hopes to be remembered for: "When I returned to Arlington, I had no political aspirations at all, but I was interested in community endeavors. I became active in the chamber of commerce and was elected president in 1949. We had a small community but it was easy to see what could be done with this kind of geography at our fingertips." In 1951 Vandergriff concluded that "the most effective way to ensure community betterment was to be in public office." He ran for the office of mayor of Arlington and won. It was the first of 13 consecutive terms for Vandergriff as mayor. As mayor of Arlington he became convinced that a regional approach to problem-solving, economic development and a host of other issues such as transportation, water and education would achieve the most lasting and best results for the citizens of North Texas. Subsequent to his time as mayor Tom was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1982 and served one term. Tom was then elected as Tarrant County judge in 1990 and served for four terms and 16 years, retiring from office at the end of 2006. The following words of Tom give testimony to what was most important to him. When he refers to Arlington he could have just as easily been referring to Tarrant County, the Metroplex region, the state of Texas or the United States. "I identified with the feeling that Arlington was a sleeping giant. And I had to be the city's salesman. Even then there was a feeling that we needed a balanced community. Being an attractive bedroom residential suburb wasn't enough. We had to have industry. My first goal was to bring jobs to Arlington. I knew industry would be interested in locating in Arlington if they knew what we had to offer." He was 25 at the time. He believed his first priority in holding any public office was to create jobs and build a diversified business economy. This guided his public service actions for over 50 years. Tom was a salesman and a cheerleader of the highest caliber. Furthermore, what he said, people believed. A New York Times writer who interviewed him for an article said he could "make a living selling beer to the Women's Christian Temperance Union." The first business he persuaded to relocate to Arlington was the Oil States Rubber Company. He was forever grateful to the owners of that company, the Bowerman family, for being the first new company to "cast their lot" with Arlington on his watch. It would not be the last. Tom never forgot and always appreciated each and every person, project or company. The most notable company in the early years was General Motors. At the time of his first election as mayor GM had already announced plans to build a new assembly plant in the North Texas area and was actively considering sites in Dallas and Fort Worth. Tom worked relentlessly to provide the company with information in hopes that it might locate the new plant in Arlington. When the story broke in the news media that GM was coming to Arlington all but one landowner had signed an option to sell their property as part of an assemblage of 255 acres of land. This single landowner read the premature report and became reluctant to sell; the plot of ground was in the heart of the site. The owner asked for more money, but GM would not pay the difference. Like any young son would do, he went to see his father with his troubles. "My father purchased an appropriate piece of ground on Abram and gave it to the owner; the option was then signed." It would not be the first time that Hooker Vandergriff and countless other citizens in Arlington and throughout the county, Metroplex, state and county over the years found ways to support Tom's efforts. As a result, Tom steadfastly refused to claim sole or primary credit for Arlington's accomplishments over the years. Tom said that that claim "could only be made by Arlington and its citizens." Everything he was credited with doing - bringing the General Motors plant to Arlington, leading the charge to bring major league baseball to North Texas, getting Lake Arlington built, working on obtaining four-year senior college status for Arlington State College and then moving it to the UT system, promoting tourism in general and Six Flags Over Texas, helping somebody get a street paved, a ceremonial ribbon-cutting, performing a marriage ceremony, leading a bond or fundraising campaign for a city or county project, championing regionalism - is all in a day's work. "I don't consider any of those things achievements," Tom said. "That was just my job. It's awesome, but it's also heartwarming to have a responsibility to the public and to meet the expectations of the populace as a whole. It's a high privilege." Having the trust and confidence of the people he served was his reward. He meant and lived by this philosophy. The incentive he fed off of to work as long and as hard as he did came from the people. "I think more than anything else it is the will of the people of the community, the ambition of the citizenry, the desire for excellence. I am constantly challenged and inspired by the actions of the people. They are so responsive; they are so farsighted. They are always striving for something better. As a result, it makes it all the more exciting to serve them and to try and meet their requirements." "My greatest reward is being able to do something about people's problems. I'm sure there is a great deal of glamour and satisfaction in serving at all levels of government, but to me there is nothing more gratifying than taking care of people's problems in the realm of the routine but vital needs of the people." Tom's personal guiding philosophy was to be sure that "no one ever leaves my office or completes a conversation with me without believing that they were given the same kind of consideration that I would like to personally to receive. This is very important to me, whatever the station of that person, whatever the age. If they're calling upon me for some particular reason, it has to be important to them and that ought to make it important to me. I trust that I will always be guided by that kind of rule of thumb relationship between the people and their leaders." He answered his own phone and returned all calls; he met with all who cared to met with him; there was no cause or task to small for him to undertake; and, he answered all of his own mail. The proper role of government in Tom's mind was "to make life more pleasant, more rewarding and more safe for the people. We, as a government, need to work every day to make our area a better place to live than it was the day before. Government exists only to serve the people. We must not forget that, ever, those of us who work for the public. I certainly consider myself a co-worker of the man on the street sweeping machine, or the safety patrolman at our school crosswalks. We all work to make this a better place to live. This is our reason for existence. We must not fail in meeting this obligation. We must not also fail to remember, that in the final analysis, only the people decide whether this or that project is good or bad for the community." The pace Tom set for himself in public service for over 50 years was described as "constant," "phenomenal," "it would tire the average man just to carry his briefcase." He knew he was not perfect but he treasured being referred to as competent, responsive and honest. Tom said "I could not imagine my life being complete without serving the public." This need fueled him for all of his life to continue to work for people. "There is still a lot to do in Arlington and this region. The best is yet to come. I wish I could be around for the next 50 years." Tom never looked back unless asked to do so. He was always interested in moving forward. The stadium he built in 1965 lived forevermore in his mind's eye but he happily put it out of his vocabulary and thought once the Ballpark in Arlington opened in 1994. He never ceased to be in awe of the Cowboys Stadium. He was so thrilled to have such fine facilities in Arlington. His admiration for those who have succeeded him as mayor of Arlington knew no bounds. He thought they all had a tougher job than he faced and always genuinely celebrated their successes. He felt the same way about his successor as county judge. It is perhaps most telling about Tom's character to know his reaction to the elections that he lost. When he lost a referendum or bond election that he championed he wondered where he had failed. He never questioned the wisdom of the citizens. Decades after losing his re-election bid for Congress, he endorsed his opponent's son when he tried to succeed his father in the position. He did so because they had worked well together as county judges and he saw no reason not to. His own loss never crossed his mind. Tom was a non-partisan man in a partisan world but never lost faith that the people would someday reverse this trend. Tom would want us to thank the citizens of Arlington, Tarrant County, the Metroplex region, Texas and the United States on his behalf for affording him the privilege of serving you. It was always a privilege and honor which he held in the highest regard. Tom would be the first to admit that he was not perfect in all of his words, actions and deeds but he would hope you all believe that he provided some measure of vision and action to carry out your wishes in making your everyday lives better, safer and with more opportunity for all. Tom's last public appearance was to attend the sixth game of the American League Championship Series and witness his beloved Texas Rangers beat the New York Yankees to win their first American League Pennant. It was a thrilling moment for him. As with everything he ever did, he never gave up hope or gave up on the team, even after 39 years of waiting. He was unable to attend a World Series game but did not despair at the loss. He knows that the Rangers will win it next year just as surely as he knows Arlington, Tarrant County, the Metroplex and Texas will continue to prosper. Survivors: Daughter, Vanessa Watters and husband, Mark; son, Victor Vandergriff and wife, Kristin; daughter, Valerie Kelton and husband, Paul; daughter, Viveca Vandergriff; grandchildren, Kendell and Rachel Kelton, and Katharine, Parker and Caroline Vandergriff; and thousands of longtime friends and colleagues.