Dr. Tom Slade Rand

Dr. Tom Slade Rand, formerly of Wilson, died on February 8, 2019, at Grace Ridge Retirement Community in Morganton, North Carolina, almost four months to the day of the passing of his wife of fifty-eight years, Mary Margaret Brown Rand.

Tom was born in Goldsboro on October 19, 1936, to Dr. Cecil “Skip” Holmes Rand and Mrs. Lucile Slade Rand.  He grew up in Fremont and graduated from Episcopal High School (Alexandria, VA) in 1955.  A Morehead Scholar, three-year soccer letterman, and president of Delta Kappa Epsilon, Tom graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1959, and from UNC Medical School in 1963. He and Mary Margaret married in 1960, and they welcomed all four children in Chapel Hill.

After his orthopedic residency, Tom served as an Air Force Major, stationed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.  Tom and Mary Margaret returned to North Carolina in 1971, settling in Wilson, where Tom practiced medicine for more than three decades. His interests included tennis, playing soccer in the old Wilson Soccer Club, fishing, gardening, pursuing his intellectual interests in Chapel Hill, and traveling the world with his love, Mary Margaret.  After his retirement, Tom enjoyed more time in St. Barth’s where he and Mary Margaret spent parts of many winters with friends and family.

Tom is lovingly remembered by his family members: children Tom Slade Rand Jr, Walter Brown Rand, William Kenan Rand (Chrissy), Georgia Rand Collett (William); grandchildren Slade and Emma Rand, Lucy Rand, Victoria Holland (Nathan), Caleb, Bethany, and WK Rand,  and Edgar, Mary Margaret, and Mathias Collett; and great-granddaughter Elani Holland; brothers Dr. Cecil H. “Skip” Rand, Jr. (Edith), Kenan S. Rand (late wife Genevieve), William H. Rand (Natalie); brother in-law Walter E. Brown, along with many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at noon on Saturday, March 16, 2019 at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Wilson. Following the service, the family will greet friends at a reception at the family home.

Sossoman Funeral Home and Crematory Center is assisting the family.