Thomas "Tommy" Edward Underwood

Tom Underwood, 80, of Paragould, died Monday, April 29, 2013 at St. Bernard's Hospital. He was born November 17, 1932, in Paragould to the late Ruth and Bill Underwood. He was also preceded in death by brothers, Lyle, Wilson, Joe and Bill Underwood, sisters, Verla Tripod, Mary Ashford and Judy Schultz. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Joyce, of the home; son: Tommy Underwood, Jr. (Diane) of Paragould; daughters: Catherine Laffoon (Chris) of Paragould; Janet Morlan (Kevin) of Las Animas, Colorado; eight grandchildren: Chastity Burns, Laura Morlan, and Jessie Montoya of Colorado, T.J., Christian, and Sean Underwood, Alexander and Elizabeth Laffoon, all of Paragould; ten great grandchildren: Isabella and Wyatt Underwood, of Marmaduke, Bentley, Paisley, Jada, Gavin, Cailey, Justin, Caden and Riley of Colorado; sisters: Dorothy Stickler of Paragould and Patsy Holland of Maynard, Arkansas. Tommy was a member of East Side Baptist Church. He was a Korean War Veteran, serving in the Arkansas National Guard and in the U.S. Army Artillery as a Radar Operator, receiving the National Defense Service Medal. He was a graduate of Arkansas State University with a BSE and, two years of graduate work He was a graduate of Tech High School. Tommy was a teacher and head coach at Greene County Tech. He took the first boys basketball team to go to the State Tournament, losing by three points in the finals and he was awarded the Arkansas Sportsmanship Trophy. He also won the Northeast Arkansas District Tournament held annually at ASU. He started Tech's first annual Athletic Panorama for girls and boys exhibiting their skills in trapeze, rope climbing, etc., for those who did not participate in basketball or football. He was the Public Relations Coordinator for former Governor Winthrop Rockefeller, traveling the state explaining the governor's program. Governor Rockefeller credited him with his work in Northeast Arkansas and helping to establish a strong two-party system in Arkansas. He declined an offer to work for the Rockefeller Foundation to return to his roots in Greene County, which he loved. He returned to Paragould in 1977 as County Executive Director of ASCS/Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation, which later became Consolidated Farm Service Agency, retiring after 31 years of service. The Arkansas Association presented him with its highest honor, a distinguished service award denoting a lifetime of service to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He became a National Management Trainer for the USDA, training multiple county executive directors through the Greene County Office. He implemented computer automation in Greene County and worked with the Kansas City office in programming and helping Arkansas offices. But most of all, he loved Greene County, Greene County Tech School, Paragould, the farmers and the people. He loved his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. In later years he attended sports games his grandsons played, when he could, sitting in a car with binoculars. He knew everybody and loved making a connection with them, that he knew their father, grandfather, farm, etc...He was a storyteller. His proudest accomplishment was raising three children to their adulthood, who were productive citizens, happy in their same first marriage and Christians. The family will receive friends from 6:00-8:00 PM Wednesday, at Heath Funeral Home. Family and friends will meet at Linwood Cemetery, Thursday at 10:00 AM, for a celebration of his life with Reverend Jeremy Stockard officiating. Memorials may be made to Arkansas Children’s Hospital, East Side Baptist Church, Grace Baptist Church or Mission Outreach. Sign online guestbook at www.heathfuneralhome.com.