It is with deep sorrow that we announce the death of Tommy Ray (Tom) Westbrook, on June 6, 2025, in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
Tom is survived by his devoted wife of 67 years, Darla Sue, and his two children, Kent Westbrook and his wife Teresa, of Dallas, Texas, and Melanie Tiner and her husband Al, of Jonesboro. He is also survived by his two brothers, James Westbrook of Columbia, Missouri, Greg Westbrook of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and a sister, Linda Bright, of El Dorado, Arkansas. He also leaves three adoring grandchildren, Allison Tiner, Amanda Silverstein (Colin), and Nathaniel Tiner (Hannah), and one great grandson, Clark Silverstein.
Tom was preceded in death by his parents, Loy and Lucille Westbrook.
Tom was born August 6, 1936, in Camden, Arkansas, where he spent his childhood fishing in the Ouachita River and playing sports in the Camden schools. He went to college at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, where he joined the ROTC program and was commissioned into the United States Army upon graduation. He also happened to meet his lovely wife, Darla Sue, in Arkadelphia, across the street at Ouachita Baptist. Tom served for eight years, including posts across the country and Germany. While in Europe, Tom and Darla toured Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Holland, and England before returning to the United States where he was discharged as a Captain. He entered the sales profession, working with 3M and Merrill Lynch in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and later with Envirco in Marietta, Georgia, before returning to Arkansas where he finished his career. Tom’s jobs had him traveling a lot, allowing him to see much of the country, from the American West, where his territory included Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado, to his native South, where he traveled from Oklahoma to Florida and up through to the Carolinas and Virginia.
Tom’s passions were creative pursuits, from singing and playing the guitar, to home carpentry, wood carving, painting, and water color. His time in the West led him to a love for folk and cowboy music, and he was happiest when singing, playing songs, and telling stories in front of a group. He loved carving birds, animals, cowboys, and Santa Claus. His artwork tended toward birds, flowers, and landscapes of places he’d been or admired. Tom cherished time with family and friends, and he was always up for a trip or an outing. He owned a horse, fished in the Rio Grande in New Mexico and the Neuse in North Carolina, built a kayak and floated the Chattahoochee in Georgia, lived in New York City for three months, ran a Texas ranch for a time, won medals in the Senior Olympics, and played with the Rackensack Folklore Society of Arkansas. He was a Renaissance Man with a life well lived.
Services will be held at Emerson Funeral Home in Jonesboro, at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 14, 2025.
*All obituaries are submitted by family and friends of the deceased.
Please enter the amount you would like to give and click continue.
