John Thomas Gunning Sr.

Tom was born at St. Joseph’s Infirmary in Atlanta on December 8, 1935 to Marie Claire Gladys Leach Gunning, originally of New Orleans, Louisiana, and George Joseph Gunning, Sr., originally of Newport, Kentucky. George, who enjoyed a 49-year career in accounting with the Southern Railway, and Gladys had relocated with their five children from the Cincinnati/northern Kentucky area to the growing railroad town of Atlanta in 1932. In Atlanta, their sixth and seventh children were born, the last of whom was known in his childhood as Tommy.

Tommy grew up across the street from the famous “Duck Pond” in the Peachtree Heights neighborhood of Atlanta. He attended elementary school at the family’s parish, the Catholic Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta, graduating from the eighth grade in 1949. Tommy went on to high school at Marist School when it was known as Marist College and was located at its original campus in downtown Atlanta on Ivy Street, now known as Peachtree Center Avenue.

Tommy was a strong student and athlete at Marist prior to his graduation in 1953, lettering for multiple years in football, basketball, and baseball. He was such a tenacious tackler on the football field that, as a freshman noted for his fearless tackling of the larger and stronger upperclassmen, he was bestowed the nickname “Bulldog Gunning” by legendary head coach, R.L. “Shorty” Doyal. To his high school classmates, Tommy was known as

“Bulldog” throughout his life.

After high school, and now known as Tom, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of attending the University of Notre Dame, where in 1957 he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Commerce/Accountancy.

While at Notre Dame, he met the love of his life, Margaret Elaine (Gretchen) House of Rome, Georgia, who was a student at neighboring Saint Mary’s College. Tom and Gretchen first met when they were both delegates from the state of Georgia in the Notre Dame/Saint Mary’s mock political convention in the winter of 1956. They were immediately interested in each other as two of the rare Georgians at that time in the Notre Dame/Saint Mary’s community. After meeting, they arranged a first date, but both thought they were to meet in two different places. After waiting in vain for each other, they decided to walk back to their dormitories. Fortunately, they passed each other on a walkway, laughed about their misunderstanding, and went on the date. Their children and grandchildren are very grateful that they passed on the walkway!

After graduation from Notre Dame, Tom joined the United States Navy and qualified for Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Newport, Rhode Island. He described OCS as the most grueling physical, academic, and emotional challenge of his life. Despite many of his colleagues departing the program, Tom demonstrated the determination and fortitude that were the hallmarks of his life and successfully graduated, commissioned as an Ensign, later promoted to Lieutenant, Junior Grade. Tom was assigned as the engineering officer on the destroyer, USS Compton, DD-705, which was attached to the US Atlantic Fleet based in Newport. On board the Compton, Tom saw much of the world—all of the major ports of western Europe and north Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, the pyramids in Egypt, the 1960 summer Olympic Games in Rome, bullfights in Spain, and many other locations. He recorded his travels on the trusty 8mm movie camera he purchased at the post exchange, delighting his children in later years with his Navy movies.

Meanwhile, after her graduation from Saint Mary’s, Gretchen accepted a position with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington DC. Tom and Gretchen continued to maintain a long-distance relationship, and they were married on December 27, 1958 in Gretchen’s home parish church, Saint Mary’s Catholic Church in Rome, Georgia. They enjoyed their “honeymoon” as they drove north to their new home in Rhode Island so Tom could report back to the Compton before putting out to sea.

Tom and Gretchen welcomed their first child, Patrick, in late 1959 in the Naval Hospital in Newport, and shortly afterward relocated back home to Georgia. They welcomed four more children in Atlanta, Catherine in late 1960, who was born the day Tom arrived home from his final Navy cruise, John Thomas, Jr. (John) in 1962, Michael in 1965, and Matthew in 1970.

Upon his return to Atlanta, Tom embarked on a highly successful business career. He joined the public accountancy firm, A.M. Pullen & Co., and met all the requirements to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). After two years, he decided that he wanted to learn more about the new field of business computing, and he joined International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) as a computer sales representative, where he won multiple national sales awards. His most effective sale was of himself, when in 1965 one of his IBM customers, Tri-State Tractor Company, a regional distributor of heavy construction equipment, hired Tom as Comptroller. Tom spent the majority of his career at Tri-State Tractor. He was promoted to successively higher levels of executive responsibility, ultimately becoming the President of the company. Tom was a charismatic and successful leader at Tri-State Tractor and its successors for 35 years, until his retirement in 2000.

Tom placed great emphasis on family life, and through concerted effort he achieved a remarkable balance between business and family responsibilities. He was a wonderful and supportive husband for Gretchen, an inspirational and energetic father to his five children, and a supportive and kind grandfather, known as Paw Paw, to his 13 grandchildren.

Tom dedicated two decades of his life to coaching youth sports teams, particularly his children’s teams. Over the years, he coached soccer, basketball, baseball, and, particularly, football. Tom was the head coach of the school football team at his children’s elementary school, Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School (OLA), for 15 years. The OLA Raiders competed in the highly competitive United Metro Football League (UMFL), comprised of teams from all of the Catholic elementary schools in Atlanta. The UMFL teams served as feeder programs for the successful high school programs at Marist School and St. Pius X Catholic High School. Over his tenure as OLA head football coach, the Raiders won five UMFL championships and were runners up several more times. Tom possessed great skills in leading and motivating his players and of designing clever and effective game plans that defeated many opposing teams with greater talent.

Until late in his life, Tom continued to be active in competitive sports activities through tennis. For several decades, he organized and played with a group of men who played competitive doubles tennis early in the morning every weekend and holiday. He also organized and captained men’s tennis teams that competed in the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association (ALTA) leagues for many years, winning multiple city championships in their division.

In addition to his coaching and athletic activities, Tom was a dedicated community volunteer. At his long-time parish, Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church, he was a lector and past member and chair of the parish Finance Council. He was a past board member and president of the Notre Dame Club of Atlanta. He was particularly proud of his 20 years of volunteer service to St. Joseph’s Hospital. He was a key member of a team of retirees who drove extended electric carts through the hospital’s large parking structures picking up patients and their families and entertaining them with his gregarious and enthusiastic personality on the way to depositing them at the hospital doors.

Tom and Gretchen placed great emphasis on and made a significant investment in educating their children. Each of their four sons, who like their father are all CPA’s, graduated from Marist School and from the University of Notre Dame, and their daughter graduated from St. Pius X Catholic High School and from Saint Mary’s College.

Tom was predeceased by his wife, Gretchen, and by his parents, Gladys and George Gunning. He was also predeceased by several of his siblings and their spouses: Patricia Gunning Reese, William J. Reese, Marie Claire Gunning O’Leary, Daniel J. O’Leary, George J. (Tim) Gunning, Jr., Augustus J. Merkle III, Barbara Gunning Johansen, and Frederick A. Johansen, Sr.

Tom is survived by his sisters, Joan Gunning Merkle of Atlanta, Georgia and Sister Maureen Gunning of the order of Maryknoll Sisters, Maryknoll, New York. He is also survived by his children, Patrick Gunning of Dunwoody, Georgia (Elizabeth Pelypenko), Catherine Gunning Lebovitz of Providence, Rhode Island (Mike Lebovitz), John Gunning of Calgary, Alberta, Canada (Eileen Hill Gunning), Michael Gunning of St. Louis, Missouri (Katie Lancaster Gunning), and Matthew Gunning of Brookhaven, Georgia (Angie Phillips Gunning). He is also survived by his 13 grandchildren: Tom Gunning (Jackie Elmer), Andy Gunning, Mary Gunning, Carl Lebovitz, Alec Lebovitz (Catherine Michaels), Ian Lebovitz, Bobby Gunning (Isabelle Zelazny Gunning), Megan Gunning, Shannon Gunning, Ben Gunning, Sarah Gunning (Hunter James), Grace Gunning, and Ella Gunning. He is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.

A funeral Mass will be held at Tom’s long-time parish church, Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church, 1406 Hearst Drive, Brookhaven, Georgia 30319 at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, December 27, 2022 (which would have been Tom’s and Gretchen’s 64th wedding anniversary). An interment service at Cedar Grove Cemetery on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana will be held at a later date.

Memorial contributions in Tom’s honor may be directed to the University of Notre Dame, Development Department, 1100 Grace Hall, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556; to Marist School, 3790 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Brookhaven, Georgia 30319; or to Emory St. Joseph’s Hospital, 5665 Peachtree Dunwoody Road, Sandy Springs, Georgia 30342.

The family wishes to express much gratitude to Tom’s caregivers, Ann Marie Hart and Towaka Dawson and to the caring professional staff at Heritage Hospice in Marietta, Georgia and the Trauma Team at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.