Thomas Divine

Thomas McCallie Divine, Jr., died on March 29, 2019, in Naples, Fla. Born and raised in Chattanooga, he attended The Bright School and The McCallie School, both founded by his relatives. After serving in the Navy on a minesweeper in the Adriatic following WWII, he graduated from Duke University and went to work with his uncle, Ira Knox, in Memphis. He married Nancy Tipton and had three children: Tom (now in Houston), Nannette (deceased in Knoxville), and Robert (now in Chattanooga). He grew a small development business in Memphis into a sizable home-building company, Faxon Inc., that he sold to a savings and loan in 1983. He remarried to Florence Bachelor and enjoyed 43 years with her until she passed away last year. They retired to Naples, FL, and, for a time, summered at Hendersonville, NC. He bought a deep-sea fishing boat and captained it on many trips, often to the Dry Tortugas, and with Florence, not a swimmer, bravely in accompaniment. He loved playing golf, which he took up at age 40, and won club championships at Windyke in Memphis, Bears Paw in Naples (7 times), and Champion Hills in Hendersonville (at age 78). He shot his age for the first time at 66 and for just under the 1200th time a few days before he died at 90. He is survived and will be sorely missed by his sons and stepsons (Wesley Hays in Memphis and Drew Hays in Houston), his sisters (Mary Hills Gill in Memphis and Elinor Benedict in Naples), his grandchildren, and their families. Those wishing to memorialize him through charity should consider a gift to their local hospice organization.