Obituary of Tom Bagwell

Carlos Daniel Thomas “Tom” Bagwell, age 92, longtime Idabel Civic Leader passed away on Tuesday, May 31, 2011 at Paris, TX. He was born May 12, 1919 near Pensacola, Florida and Mobile, Alabama, the son of Daniel Stephens and Adelle Kirby Bagwell. Tom was born and raised in Alabama and enlisted in the U. S. Navy on Oct. 10, 1939. He immediately was sent to a naval training center in Norfolk, Virginia and upon completion of basic training he enrolled in hospital corps man school. After graduation, he was assigned to a succession of naval duties. His first duty station was a naval hospital in Newport, Rhode Island, followed by the naval hospital in American Samoa in the South Pacific, then a recruiting station in Phoenix, Arizona. He was then assigned to his first and only naval ship, USS “SPOKANE”, light cruiser. He subsequently attended another corps school at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. He was then assigned to a naval hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He later attended Medical Administrative School at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland and was assigned to the naval hospital in Yokosuka, Japan. He was assigned to temporary additional duties on board the USS ESTES with the Flag Medical Officer, and the ship visited five South Korean ports. He returned to the Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, Japan, and was promoted to officer in warrant status. He was transferred back to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethedsa, Maryland where he served on the Admiral’s staff. He then went to the Commander 8th naval district in New Orleans, Louisiana on the medical reserve program. He was then assigned to the Naval Hospital in Naples, Italy for thirty-eight months. His last assignment was with the Naval Hospital in St. Albans, New York as Chief Warrant Officer. Mr. Bagwell retired from the USN on Dec. 3, 1963. After retiring, he went to work on his 1,477 acre Bear Hollow Farms in Pineville, Missouri with cattle and timber. He later sold the land, cattle, and equipment and went to work as a medical supervisor for Brown and Root Construction, working at the Boise Cascade Paper Co. in DeRidder, Louisiana. In 1970, he transferred to the Weyerhaeuser Co. in Valliant, Oklahoma where another paper mill was being built and he was employed as a medical and safety supervisor. During the 1970s-80s, he served on the Board of Directors for the Idabel Chamber of Commerce for three terms. He was a Charter member of the Wright City Lions Club and served as its President for two years. He married Betty Bunch Balisle in 1971. They bought the Ruth Olive home and named it “Spaulding-Olive” home and promoted it the National Register Historical Site in 1976, only the fifth site to have such a designation in McCurtain County and the first in Idabel. He was elected charter President of the McCurtain County Historical Society from 1972-1973 and obtained the Articles of Incorporation, received charter, and prepared the by-laws and constitution. He also served as the Director of the Oklahoma Heritage Association in Oklahoma City for ten years. He retired from the Weyerhaeuser Company in 1979. He joined the Idabel Rotary Club in 1981 of which he was a member from then until the present. He held many offices in the club including District Governor from 1988-1989. On Oct. 27, 1984, he became a 32nd degree Mason. He recently received a 65 year pin from the Oklahoma State Worshipful Master. He served as the Commander of the American Legion, Post 8 in 1984, 1985, and 1986. He was selected as the Oklahoma Legionnaire of the Year in 1986. In Feb., 1987, he was named the National Legionnaire of the Month by the American Legion Magazine. He received citations from the House of Representatives Jim Barker and Mike Murphy. From 1986-1988, he served as President of the Idabel Chapter of the AARP and received two special citations for outstanding service. He served two years as a Silver-haired Legislator under KEDDO’s jurisdiction. His other contributions to the McCurtain County include, Director of Sonray Industries, Director and Secretary of United Way, Director and Secretary of Owa Chito Festival, Commissioner and Secretary of Idabel Airport Commission, Director of Project Compassion, Member of Idabel Christmas Council, Advisory Board for Broadway Mental Health Clinic, and a member of the Gideons International McCurtain Camp for over ten years. He and Betty have sponsored the Tom and Betty Bagwell Scholarship Fund for over ten years to McCurtain County high school seniors to study at SOSU, McCurtain Campus, for six credit hours. He was a member of the First Baptist Church of Idabel for over thirty years and wrote the first church history book in 1976 detailing the first 75 years of the church. He was preceded in death by his parents, sister, Lucille Sansing, brother, Joseph Daniel Bagwell, and sister, Jane Hanak. Tom is survived by his wife, Betty, of the home; step-son, Vice-Admiral Phillip M. Balisle, USN Ret., and his wife, Patricia; step-grandchildren, Jennifer Balisle, Jeffrey Balisle and his wife, Christie, and their new daughter, Eve Elizabeth, all of Washington, D. C.; sisters, Bee Woodcock, of Pensacola, Florida, and Mabel Carmichael, of New Orleans, Louisiana; god-child, Judy Moore, of New Orleans, Louisiana; special nephews, Gerald Sansing, of Folsom, California, Gary Sansing, of Pensacola, Florida, and Martin Sansing, of St. Monica, California; and a host of other relatives and friends. Services will be at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 5, 2011 at the First Baptist Church with Bro. Shawn Robertson and Bro. Miles Wesner officiating. The family will receive friends from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 4, 2011 at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that a contribution can be made to one of the many organizations that Tom loved and supported.