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Thomas B. Preston, 88, passed from this life to be with his Lord on August 20, 2019, in Memphis, Tennessee.
Tom was born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma on September 2, 1930, the eldest son of Gerald R. Preston, Sr. and Blanche (Bates) Preston. One of his elementary school classmates, Ann Marie ("Ami") Doornbos, became the love of his life and his wife of 57 years before her death in 2008.
Tom graduated from College High School in Bartlesville and from Oklahoma State University before serving his country as an Army lieutenant in Korea. After his service he graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Law and practiced law for a decade in his hometown with the firm of Garrison, Preston, Preston & Brown. In 1967, the Preston family moved to Memphis where Tom taught at the University of Memphis Law School until 1979. He was an extraordinarily effective teacher, and an endowed professorship has been established in his name at the law school. He also was beloved and honored by his students, many of whom told his sons over the years, "Your dad was the best professor I ever had."
He returned to Bartlesville in 1979 to serve as general counsel to Foster Petroleum Company but moved back to Memphis in 2003, where he remained for the rest of his life. Tom was a member of the Board of Trustees of Memphis University School, where his three sons attended, and was an avid fan of the Owls athletic teams. He was also a member of the Bartlesville City Council, a past president of Hillcrest Country Club in Bartlesville, and was active in men's Bible studies and civic and community affairs in both Bartlesville and Memphis. Tom helped to establish Grace Community Church in Bartlesville and was a member of Independent Presbyterian Church in Memphis. He was an avid and capable golfer and a devoted fan of the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, and the Memphis Tigers.
Tom was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Ann Marie (Doornbos) Preston, and his brother Gerald and his wife Mickie. He is survived by his brother Joe and his wife Rosetta of Bartlesville, and by three sons and daughters in law, Thomas and his wife Kara of Memphis, David and his wife Shelley of Prairie Village, Kansas, and Rob and his wife Suzanne of Memphis. He is also survived by eight grandchildren, Julia Preston and Thomas Preston of Memphis, Sarah Preston Radasky of Mission Hills, Kansas, and William Preston of Kansas City, and Matthew Preston of Memphis, Virginia Preston of New York City, Joseph Preston of Reno, Nevada, and Faith Preston of Memphis, as well as four great-grandchildren.
Services will be held on Monday, August 26, 2019 at Independent Presbyterian Church in Memphis. Visitation will be at noon and a memorial service at 1 p.m., both at the Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Oklahoma Wesleyan University, 2201 Silver Lake Road, Bartlesville, 74006 or to Grace Community Church, 1500 King Drive, Bartlesville, 74006.
Published in Examiner-Enterprise from Aug. 23 to Sept. 22, 2019
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