Thomas Franklin Asbury, 92, of Inverness, FL passed away on Saturday, January 3, 2015, at Cornerstone Hospice House, The Villages, FL, under their wonderful care.
Born in Sissonville, W.Va. he was the son of James Garfield and Aquila Asbury. At age 3, his father died, and he had to quit school in the 6th grade to help his mother and family on their 1930’s Depression Era farm.
His wife of 69 years, Wilma, died last June. His passing leaves two sons, Berkeley of Lady Lake, FL and Marion of Coleman, FL; two daughters, Bonnie O’Neal of Dunnellon, FL and Connie Lovell of Apopka, FL. 12 grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren and 3 great-great grandchildren.
Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, January 9, 2015 at Calvary Apostolic Church, 10681 No. US Highway 301, Oxford, FL 34484. The family will greet friends one hour prior. Internment will follow at Ft. Christmas Cemetery, Christmas, FL.
Daddy was a sweet and gentle man who was loved by everyone. He loved all his children and worked hard to provide for us in our formative years. He was always proud of our accomplishments. Often times, I would see my old business cards and copies of “Letters to the Editor”,I had written years ago still in his billfold. More than being proud, he just loved his kids. And, I loved him. I am glad the old Moonshiner found the Lord and was baptized in Jesus Name.
Poppy was a great man and an amazing grandfather, I just see my self as lucky to have known him for as long as I did. I love my poppy an I will never forget him on nanny. over the years I have learned many things from them. I will cherish the times I spent with them in there house. I will always love and remember my daddy. I might not have known big papa very long but in the time that I did know him and nanny I found out that they were amazing people and the fact that they were able to stay together as long as they did was amazing I will always remember them both.
Frank will always be in our hearts. Your loss is our loss. Tom
Berk
My heart is heavy,our ancestors are all gone.
We are not there,but we are in our hearts.
We love you guys.
Linda,Bolly,Eunice,and Cathy
Tom will be so sadly missed by all who knew him I’ve had the pleasure of knowing him most of my life and its a honor to be one of his friends,he always made you laugh and he will be so sadly missed but I know Heaven has a beautiful angel,to join his precious wife Wilma they were a beautiful pair I love you so much, Lana And Jimmie Whiting
Very sorry that I can’t be there for Uncle Franks funeral. I remember him as a very friendly man and I haven’t seen him in many years but always enjoyed seeing him and talking with him when he came home to see us.
I guess all the old folks are gone now….Frank was the last one and they are all up there together now.
Sorry for your loss Berk
Judy
PS I am using my daughters email address
I will always love and miss my pappa he was a wonderful and gentle person
TOM ASBURY is and was, like a father to me. I have all the respect, love, and admiration that a man can have for anyone. He made me feel like family. I never knew of his education, but have never known of anyone who could out-smart him.He was a simple man that was family first, and was not a worrier of things. I’ve known him for over fifty years, and do not know of anyone that I love more. His wife’s passing was the most devastating event of his life.His oldest son and I have been friends since the eighth grade. His wife would tell me that I was her 5th child, and I always felt welcome in their home. I can only say, this world was a better place because of him. I will always miss Tom, and Wilmafor the rest of my life. William H. “BILL” BOYER
What a Dad! He was the most sweetest, caring, and thoughtful person I know. He was always there for us and never failed to ask about me when talking to Berk on the phone. Such a pleasure to be around, my heart grieved for him as he mourned the loss of his love of sixty-nine years. I miss him and his jokes and stories. I especially enjoyed all our trips to Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee,and West Virginia. We had so much fun.
– Donna
I am Billy Joe’s daughter..i just wanted to let you know how sorry we all are for your loss..we all loved Frank and Wilma so much..they were very good people. God rest their souls..If we can help you with anything please let us know. Dad just loved Frank and he knows they will meet again someday. All our love and prayers to the family.
Grandpa was always happy and so much enjoyed life. The things I remember most about him is constantly joking and making people laugh. He did not have a mean bone in his body and loved everyone that he met. I can not ever remember him saying anything negative about anyone. He only loved! I will miss him very much and he will never be forgotten.
Thomas Asbury was a joy to have as part of Calvary Apostolic Church. He loved to tease and get people to laugh. We pray that the Lord Jesus will bless all the family.
Grandpa was a great to be around.He could sure make you laugh.The boyhood memories of staying with him and grandma are memories I will treasure and recall for the rest of my life.I was blessed to be his grandson.
Grandpa was unique, I’ve never met anyone with as much patience, kindness, and love as he had. I remember growing up, listening to grandma chewing on him about something, and he would always just listen, or agree. Or the countless times all of us grandchildren would slam the front door, he would always just say “you’re going to take the hinges off!”, or if we would go and stare into the refrigerator for the 100th time, he would say “what are you trying to do refrigerate the house!”. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him mad, he was everybody’s friend, and always a pure joy to be around. To hear his stories, and his jokes growing up was always the highlight of our trips to Madison. You could never replace him, but it would do the world a great service if we all tried to imitate him. I’m very thankful to be called his grandson. As long as there are memories, grandpa will always be loved! I love you grandpa!
Truly one of a kind! I was thinking earlier I don’t know how we are all going to remember how much we weigh, how much money we make or how much something cost us without him around. I don’t think there was a time I was around him that I (or someone in the room) didn’t get asked one of those questions. More of his favorites were “Who was that blonde I saw Pauly with the other day?” or “Does your harness still fit?(In other words are you still working?) On one of our recent visits he grabbed my hand and rubbed the inside of it, then he nodded to himself- we started laughing, because he was feeling to see if I had callouses!! He and Grandma will be sorely missed!
Christy (Paul’s wife)
It’s not very often that someone my age gets to become such good friends with their great grandparents, but I was blessed with such an opportunity. Grandpa and I had a lot of great conversations (especially in the last few months) about everything from what job I wanted, to who I was going to marry- he was a very sweet person to talk to and had a lot of good advice on life. I will always love and miss him and Grandma!
We are so very sorry for the loss of your father. He was loved and admired by many. I have never known such a gentle person. He leaves behind a wonderful legacy in his family. His daughter Connie has been my best friend for over twenty years, and I had many opportunities to enjoy the company of Mr. Asbury and his wife.
They both will be missed.
Lin and Russ Warner