Thomas Ladd

Thomas Albert (Tom) Ladd, Jr. of Texas City, Texas, passed away on Sunday, December 24, 2017. Born in Newberry, SC, on November 5, 1951, he was the son of Thomas Albert Ladd, Sr. and Johnnie Belle (‘Dot") Gregory Ladd of Blair, SC.

Tom is survived by his brother John Ladd (Sydney), sister-in-law Martha Ladd, brother-in-law Carl Smith (Mary), nieces Frances Lightcap (Jamie), Callie Sims (James), nephew William Ladd, Jr. (Meg), and seven great nieces and nephews. Additionally Tom leaves behind Texas "family" Sharron and Gary Daniel and children Shawna Vercher (Jason), Elizabeth Ferguson (Seth), Benjamin Daniel and his beloved cat Vinny.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents, sister Callie Smith, and brother William ("Billy") Ladd, Sr.

Tom spent his childhood in Blair, SC, and was a long-time member of Salem Presbyterian Church. He was a 1969 graduate of Richard Winn Academy in Winnsboro, SC, and attended Clemson University before joining the workforce. In 1974 he moved to Houston and began what would become a career in the petrochemical industry by taking a job with Arco Refinery. In December of 1977, he relocated to Texas City and went to work for Monsanto, remaining there through the transition of Monsanto to Sterling Chemicals, and finally to Eastman Chemicals. He retired at the end of December 2016, after 39 years at the same plant.

In keeping with his life-long passion for helping others, Tom earned certification as an Emergency Medical Technician in the spring of 1984. He went on to certify as a Paramedic in 1985, and was also certified by the state as an Emergency Medical Services Instructor later that same year. He began his teaching career in 1985 at both College of the Mainland in Texas City and Alvin Community College in Alvin, Texas. In 1990 he became Lead EMS Instructor with Gulf Coast Training Center and held this position until GCTC closed their doors in 2015. Throughout his EMS career, Tom also served as the head of the Emergency Response Team at his plant and was the only paramedic on the response team until his retirement.

Expanding his love of serving others even further, Tom became one of the founding members of Texas-3 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (TX-3 DMAT) in July of 1996. TX-3 DMAT is a federal disaster response team and is part of the National Disaster Medical System, tasked with responding to disasters anywhere in the U.S. and its territories. In addition to responding as a medic, Tom was a member of the Command Staff of TX-3 and served as Administrative Officer for many years. Throughout his time with TX-3, Tom deployed to many natural as well as man-made disasters, including multiple hurricanes (Katrina, Andrew, Rita, Ike and others) as well as the World Trade Center attack. He was still a valued and active member of TX-3 DMAT at the time of his passing.

Tom enjoyed reading, walking in the woods, hunting on his deer lease property, and shooting skeet both for pleasure and competitively. He competed and received recognition in the prestigious Invitation Only Mayor's Cup Event in Texas City for the last several years. He was a member of several local skeet shooting teams. He also enjoyed baking desserts to share with his co-workers, friends, and family.

Tom leaves behind a huge host of friends and co-workers who also mourn his passing. He will be greatly missed.

Memorial services for Tom will be held 2:00 p.m. Saturday, January 20, 2018 at Emken Linton Funeral Home in Texas City, Texas.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be given to St. Jude's Children's Hospital or the charity of one's choice. Emken-Linton Funeral Home of Texas City is assisting the family.

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