Edward Thomas Husketh III, better known as Tom, passed away unexpectedly at home on December 21, 2025. Born April 12, 1952, Tom was the son of E.T. "Chick" Husketh Jr., a farmer, and Alma Ormond Husketh, a teacher. Since his mother's death in 2006, Tom loved living independently in his own apartment on the family farm in the Brassfield community, next door to his brother, Craig Husketh, and sister-in-law, Vickie Bailey. Tom also leaves behind his brother Bill Husketh, also of Wilton, his nephews Eric Husketh of Seoul, South Korea, and Jared Husketh of Washington, DC, and his niece Holly Husketh Piro, of White House, TN.

In his 73 years, Tom's life was woven into the fabric of the community around Wilton, Creedmoor, and southern Granville County. Blind since birth, he graduated from the Governor Morehead School for the Blind in 1974, and then worked with Lions Club Industries for the Blind for over 48 years. After his retirement, Tom loved spending his days at the South Granville Senior Center.

Tom enjoyed his life immensely, and made sure everyone knew it. First among his passions was NC State football and belonging to the Wolfpack Nation. Since 1974, Tom is believed to have missed only one NC State home game. In later years, his season tickets were on the "visitor" side of the stadium, but rooting for opposing teams never stopped Tom from making friends with everyone around him. Tom was nearly as passionate about football at South Granville High School, where he was almost always on the sidelines getting the play-by-play from his friend Hayden Shackleford. He loved to swim, and for decades spent every weekend of his summers at the South Granville Country Club, even learning to dive off the diving board. He spent every winter getting fired up for the best weeks of the year—summer camp at Camp Dogwood, an outdoor getaway for the visually impaired.

Tom was a member of Banks Methodist Church in Wilton all his life. From his infancy to his death, Tom could be found in the back pew, where the ushers jokingly asked him for decades to touch the donation plates to make sure the congregation had given enough money before proceeding. Another reason Tom was so well-known in his community was because of his service to others. He was a member of the Lions Club chapter in Creedmoor and was awarded the Melvin Jones Fellowship, the Lions' highest honor, for his exemplary service in support of the visually impaired. Tom was excited at every Lions Club fundraiser to be officially in charge of turning the hushpuppy maker. Tom's blindness also gave him a talent few others in our community had: reading Braille. For years, he went to Wilton Elementary School to talk to students, demystifying blindness and writing each child's name in Braille as a keepsake. And for more than 40 years, it was Tom's delight to read the story of Jesus' birth from his Braille bible at Christmas services at Banks Church.

All of these things gave Tom joy, and he certainly would tell anybody who would listen about any and all of them, and more. Tom truly had the gift of gab, and dreamed of being a radio disc jockey so that he could play music and talk all day long—two of his favorite things. He was especially fond of classic Gospel music, and was lucky to have friends who took him to churches where he could hear Gospel live. Since Tom also loved eating good food, a church potluck was one of his happy places.

Nearly everyone who lived in southern Granville County for any length of time eventually knew Tom, or at least knew of him, proof that his blindness never slowed him down. He was known by all as boisterous and enthusiastic—someone who made the best of what he was given. Those of us who knew Tom more intimately admired his open heart. None of us can think of ever hearing an unkind word towards anyone, and there was no one in the world that Tom would not befriend. As a blind man, Tom literally could not see a person's color, nor was he interested in a person's wealth, looks, education, politics, or any other status. All Tom cared about was whether a person was kind, or not. That made him an exceptional judge of character, a man who just wanted to be treated decently and offered the same in return. Sincere and earnest to a fault, with Tom, what you saw was what you got. Of course Tom was not perfect, and could be just as challenging as any other human, but those of us who felt close to him were blessed by the gift of his gentle spirit. To spend time with Tom was to slow down a little bit, to consider the needs of another person, to appreciate the simple pleasures of being alive.

Throughout his life, Tom adored his extended family and the many, many friends and neighbors who never forgot about him and made efforts to ensure that he was included like everyone else. Tom's family shares his gratitude for the love and care that he was given in our community. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, December 27, at 11 AM at Banks Church. Tom would have been very happy if you wear red to celebrate his love of NC State.

While Tom asked to be cremated, his honorary pallbearers will be dear friends who made such a difference in his life: the Alex D. Watkins, Sr. family, Hayden Shackleford, Gilbert Mangum, and the members of the Creedmoor Lions Club. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the church he loved, Banks Methodist (PO Box 1276, Creedmoor NC 27522), or the charity of your choice.