Thomas Joseph Schillerstrom, 86, passed away on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012, at his home in Southern Pines.
He was born on January 19, 1926, to the late Curtis and Elizabeth Schillerstrom. He had two brothers, Robert and Walter, both of whom are deceased.
Thomas moved to Scarsdale, N.Y., from Louisville, Ky., at the age of 16. He attended Scarsdale High School and Cheshire Academy, where he played football and was inducted into the Prep School Football Hall of Fame.
Following graduation, he attended one year at Yale University before entering the Army in World War II, where he served with the U.S. Rangers in Europe. His first combat mission was on D-day at Omaha Beach in Normandy. He later took part in the battle of Huertgrn Forest, where he was wounded and sent to Walter Reed Hospital as a second lieutenant. He also served in the Korean War.
After being released from the military, he returned to Yale and later attended Lafayette College, where he again played football and was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He attended Columbia University Business School for one year before going to work for his father, who was a general agent for the Paul Revere Life Insurance Company in New York City. Following his father’s death, he took over the agency and later became head of New York operations.
In 1952, he married Marian Elizabeth Freund and settled in Scarsdale, N.Y., where they lived until 1980, raising two children. While in Scarsdale, he was active in the Hitchcock Presbyterian Church, the United Way, the Boy Scouts, the Board of the Scarsdale Library and, for 19 years, served as vice president of the White Plains Hospital Medical Center. During this time, he became part owner for the Scarsdale Inquirer and was an active member of the Scarsdale Golf Club, where he served as president for two years.
In 1980, the couple moved to Bedford, N.Y., where they lived until his retirement. They moved to North Carolina in 1994 with residences in both Pinehurst and Seven Lakes. They belonged to St. Matthews Church in Bedford, N.Y. and The Village Chapel in Pinehurst. They were also members of the Country Club of North Carolina in Pinehurst. They moved to the Belle Meade Retirement Community in Southern Pines in 2010.
Thomas is survived by his loving wife, Marian Freund Schillerstrom; a son, William Curtis Schillerstrom; daughter-in-law, Lynn; and granddaughter, Emma; also a daughter, Mary Jane Ufland; son-in-law, Harry Ufland; and grandson, Thomas William Ufland.
A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012, at 11 a.m. at the Belle Meade Chapel.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Animal Advocates of Moore County, P.O. Box 3399, Pinehurst, NC 28370.
Online condolences may be left at www.bolesfuneralhome.com.
Boles Funeral Home and Crematory Inc., in Pinehurst, will be assisting the family.