Thomas Henry Reynolds Sr.

REYNOLDS, Thomas Henry Sr., 85, of Ladysmith, passed away peacefully at his home on Sunday, December 14, 2008. The son of the late Annie Parker and Alfred Rixey Reynolds, he was born September 18, 1923, the fifth of nine children. In 2003, he mourned the death of his wife of 60 years, Muriel Walsh Reynolds; and in 2006 he grieved the passing of his son, Thomas H. Reynolds Jr., 51. Also preceding him in death were six of his siblings, Edward, Forester, and Floyd Reynolds, Frances Rife, Elizabeth Hundley and Minnie Dalton Holzapfel. He is survived by three devoted daughters, Marilyn Parnell, Donna Strong-Wickham and Winona Smitherman; two sisters, Doris Leake and Virginia Baldwin; 11 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren. In his earlier years, he was joint owner of Reynolds Brothers Lumber in Caroline. Later, he worked and retired from the Richmond Foundry, but he may be known best as the "Tomato-Man" of Ladysmith, where for 23 years, he raised and sold his own plants and vegetables, until in 2007, when pulmonary disease made this no longer possible. A funeral service will be held 2 p.m. Thursday, December 18, 2008 in the chapel of Storke Funeral Home, Bowling Green. Burial will follow at Shiloh United Methodist Church Cemetery, Montpelier, Va. The family will receive visitors from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, December 16, and Wednesday, December 17, at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to Salem Christian School, 1701 Cardwell Rd., Crozier, Va. 23039. Sign register book online at www.storkefuneralhome.com.
This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.