Goodbye to a dear friend

Troop 343 lost a true friend and long time supporter this week with the passing of Thomas P. Faulk, III.

Thomas P. Faulk, III

This writer’s earliest memory of Tommy was in 1990 when our first son joined the troop.  Tommy was already an entrenched leader by then, already handling troop finances and seeing to it that no boy missed a summer camp or a chance to attend Philmont for lack of money.   While we didn’t always have much in the treasury, there was never a real need that wasn’t met, somehow.   Tommy’s sons, Thomas IV and Jim Ben, both earned Eagle Scout honors through Troop 343, and at that time most parent volunteers step back from scouting and move to other things.  Not so for Tommy.  He continued to serve on the troop committee as treasurer and for the last several years as liason with our sponsoring organization, First United Methodist Church.

The scout lodge we now proudly call home exists primarily because of the single-minded, consistent vision of this wonderful man.   While many great local friends of the troop donated time, materials and funding, it all came together over a period of more than 20 years, due to the vision of this man.

Many people around Athens, and indeed around Texas, will speak of how much Tommy was loved and respected by those he met in his many endeavors.  I’ll speak for how much he has been a part of the lives of so many boys, and their parents and families, as he worked tirelessly to promote and represent Scouting in our area.   We can never thank him enough.  He is forever loved and will long be missed.