Thomas Spencer Guimarin

With the uncommon grace and dignity that characterized the length of his life, Tom Guimarin left it on Saturday, February 25, 2006. A funeral service, with Dr. Phil Christopher officiating, will be at 2:00 p.m. Monday, February 27, 2006 at The Hamil Family Funeral Home, 6449 Buffalo Gap Road. There will be a private burial at Elmwood Memorial Park. Born Thomas Spencer Guimarin on January 25, 1919 in Olney, Texas, he was the fourth child and only son of Lillian Thomas, a homemaker, and Thomas Guimarin, who owned one of the first hardware stores, and then the first Oldsmobile dealership in Olney. Tom attended Hardin -Simmons University in Abilene, earning a business degree. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the US Army, ultimately serving as payroll master in Belgium during World War II. He was on the front lines in Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, the largest land battle of the war in which the Americans participated, and received four decorations, including a bronze star. After peace was declared in May 1945, Tom returned to Abilene and was named Assistant Manager of the Cowboy Band at HSU. From 1946 until he left HSU in 1956, Tom Guimarin made all the contacts for the Band and went with it on its big time travels. He also held the University's Secretary-Treasurer position until 1956, when he joined his sister Bea Haney in her clothing business. For 40 years, he and Bea were partners, bringing style and elegance to West Texas. In 1992, he opened Tom's Corner Shop in River Oaks Shopping Center before re-joining his sister in 1996. Tom and Bea retired in 1999, though he was always dressed to the nines, even, as some said, to take out the garbage. The best dressed man in Abilene swayed to the sounds of his beloved Big Band music and the torch singers of years passed. In many ways, Tom remained in the timeless elegance of another day. A lifelong bachelor, Tom was the father figure to Bea's three sons, whose own father was no longer a part of their lives. An avid dancer, he became a favorite escort for the single women of Abilene and was always ready for a party. In later years, Tom loved to travel, trading airplanes for cruise ships as he grew older. Although he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2002, he refused to mention his various ailments but quietly adapted to the restrictions. On a cruise in the Caribbean in 2004, however, his health began to suffer, and he left the ship for a hospital in Cancun, Mexico, followed by lengthy stays in Abilene hospitals. Predeceased by his sisters Lillie Mae Hallman and Bea Haney, and nephew John Haney, Tom Guimarin is survived by a sister Charlsie Fulwiler of Athens, Georgia; nephews Charles and Carlton Haney of Houston, Stanley Jackson of Macon, Georgia; and Don Hallman of Abilene and nieces Susan Hallman of Fullerton, California, and Ceanne Crane of Athens, Georgia. Tom was a member of the "Alternate Curriculum" Sunday School Class, taught by Dr. Ron Smith, at First Baptist Church where his membership dates from April 11th, 1948. Memorials may be made to Hendrick Home for Children, P.O. Box 5195, Abilene, TX 79608 or to the donor's choice.