Thomas H Chunn

Mr. Thomas Harder Chunn, 94, retired businessman and realtor, died Wednesday, December 12, 2007, at Life Care Center of Columbia. He was formerly a resident of Sunnyside Lane. Funeral services will be conducted at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home with Rev. Buddy Roberts officiating. Burial will be in Rose Hill Cemetery, with military honors provided by the Tennessee National Guard. The family will visit with friends Saturday from 3 - 7 p.m. at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church, 2800 Trotwood Ave., Columbia, TN 38401 or to the Alzheimer's Association, MidSouth Chapter, 4205 Hillsboro Pike, Suite 216, Nashville, TN 37215. Notes of sympathy may be sent to the family at www.oakesandnichols.com. Mr. Chunn was born November 27, 1913 in the farm home of his parents, located in Marshall County near the Macedonia Methodist Church. A descendant of early settlers of northeastern Maury County and northwestern Marshall County, he was the son of the late Harmon Thomas Chunn and the late Maggie Izora Scott Chunn. After the family moved to Maury County he attended McCrory's Corner School and Pottsville School and later attended Central High School in Columbia. While attending Central High School, he served as an American Legion Boy's State representative and was a member of the Tennessee National Guard. He graduated from Central High School in 1934, and in that year he married Martha Ellen Turpin (thereafter by adoption Martha Ellen Butler Chunn) of the Carter's Creek community. They were married for over sixty years when she preceded him in death in 1995. In 1936, as a citizen soldier, Mr. Chunn was appointed Second Lieutenant Cavalry, United States Army Reserve, and was among those last cavalry officer candidates to have been required to demonstrate mounted horsemanship and use of the saber before a board of review. In 1940 he was ordered to immediate active duty at Fort Knox, KY; but, upon being injured in a tank field training exercise, he was discharged from Walter Reed Army Hospital in 1941 and retired from further military service. During World War II, Mr. Chunn was a founder of Global War Veterans, which ultimately merged with other veterans organizations to form the AMVETS veterans organization. Following the pursuit of various business and farming interests, Mr. Chunn was a real estate broker and auctioneer in Columbia. He and his wife Martha, also a real estate broker, conducted business as "Chunn Land and Mortgage" for many years. He was very active in the formation of the Maury County Board of Realtors. In his later years, Mr. Chunn contributed historical research of interest to Maury and Marshall County residents, to Westminster Presbyterian Church, and to family genealogists, much of which was microfilmed by the Tennessee State Library and Archives. He was a founder of the Old Cemeteries Society and other organizations assisting in the preservation of old cemeteries; he was a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (Elisha Harder Scott, Co. A, Fourth McLemore's Cavalry); he was a member of the National Society Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), Tombigbee Chapter, and the Society of Descendants of Washington's Army at Valley Forge (Private Sylvester Chunn, Fourteenth Virginia Regiment). He was active as a member of the Republican Party. Survivors include a daughter, Barbara Ann Chunn Shackelford of Mt. Pleasant, and a son, Donald Thomas (Nan Johnson) Chunn of Columbia; five grandchildren, Martha Evelyn Shackelford (Mark) McCain of Mt. Pleasant, William Robert "Sonny" (Patricia) Shackelford II of Columbia, John Burton Shackelford of Columbia, Brian Thomas (Lina) Chunn of Ocoee, Florida and Mary Elizabeth (Charles) West of Maryville; eight great-grandchildren, Leslie Pruitt, Cole Shackelford, Anna Shackelford, Jessica Shackelford, Jenny Shackelford, Elizabeth West, Maggie West and Leah Ginn; three great-great grandchildren, Tyler Pruitt, Briley Pruitt and Hannah Ginn; one nephew, J. Michael Dillingham; and two nieces, Susan D. Stockard and Martha T. Scott. He was preceded in death by his sister, Marie Chunn Dillingham; his great-grandchild, Ryan Shackelford; and his extended family member and fellow realtor, William Wade Reed, Sr. Pallbearers will be Brian Chunn, Sonny Shackelford, John Shackelford, Charles West, Mark McCain, Michael Dillingham and Elliott Stockard. Honorary pallbearers will be Ashley Brown, Dr. Kevin Chunn, John Church, Dr. Thomas Dake, Bob Duncan, William Massey, Tracy Moore, Dr. Taylor Rayburn, Ross Whitley and members of the Tombigbee Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution (SAR).