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Memorial services for Thomas Paul Darmstadter from Lufkin will be held on Saturday, August 28, 2021 at 12:00 at St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church in Lufkin, Texas, under the direction of Reverend Thomas Morris. The private burial takes place at the Garden of Memories Memorial Park Sunset Mausoleum in Lufkin, Texas.
Thomas Paul Darmstadter went to his Lord and Savior on August 21, 2021 at the age of 86 with his beloved wife Sallye at his side. He bravely fought an eighteen month battle with lung cancer. Affectionately known as “Darmy” by everyone, Tom was a wonderful man with a limitless sense of humor and quick wit, a true gentleman and friend, a loving husband, father, brother and grandfather. His love for Lufkin and the surrounding area was reflected in his constant aim to serve his fellow human beings.
He had an intense desire to give back to his community through his many contributions, both monetarily and, more importantly, his time with local charities. Tom’s greatest personal achievement was being a crusader and cheerleader for several charities across Deep East Texas. He was passionate about the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council (ADAC), the Boys & Girls Club of East Texas, and the Burke Center. At the age of 80 he was in charge of the construction of the main building of the Burke Center in Lufkin and at the same time supervised the renovation and expansion of the ADAC main campus in Lufkin. In his honor, the ADAC dedicated Darmy’s Place in 2018. Darmy’s Place offers ADAC customers professional qualifications and long-term recovery support. As a role model for his family, Tom took great pride in the founding of Book Buddies of East Texas by Diana, Millye and Tom II helping fight the “summer slide” in reading comprehension. He was also a key fundraiser for his wife’s love and passion for over 20 years, the Stubblefield Learning Center, a high school she founded to help at-risk students in Angelina County.
He was involved in charity and had the great honor of serving on the board of directors of the TLL Temple Foundation from 2011, replacing Congressman Charlie Wilson upon his death. He was inducted into the Boys & Girls Club of East Texas Hall of Fame in 2018 for his hard work and guidance. Tom was a founding member of the Crown Colony Country Club and a past president.
Born in 1934 in East Orange, New Jersey, to parents who immigrated from Germany / Alsace-Lorraine via Ellis Island, he joined the Air Force in 1952 and was honorably discharged in December 1954 with the rank of sergeant. Tom attended the University of Alabama to tutor the basketball team and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce and Business Administration in August 1958.
After graduating from the University of Alabama, Tom worked for many large corporations including Larry Smith & Company in Washington, DC, Lumberman’s Investment Corporation and Jagger Associates in Austin, and Baker Jones Crow in Dallas. Successful projects included the 24-story Westgate Building next to the Texas State Capitol, the Sheraton Crest Hotel, now known as The Line Hotel, ideally located on Congress Avenue, and he marketed the 41 acres in Houston that Ken Schnitzer owned , Sr. and is known as Greenway Plaza, which includes several high-rise office buildings, a high-rise hotel, and the Summit Arena. He also oversaw the large-scale development of The Great Hills subdivision in northwest Austin and was involved in the Houston House, a 33-story apartment building in downtown Houston.
In 1975 he received a call from Arthur Temple aka “Big Pop” to pull behind the pine curtain and serve as President and COO for Exeter Investment Company in Lufkin. Lufkin would be Tom and Sallye’s forever home. The Exeter Investment Company was a private office primarily overseeing real estate for the Temple family and Tom overseeing shopping malls, hotels, nursing homes, apartments, and real estate in Acapulco. He was also responsible for overseeing the company’s holdings in various operating companies including American Equitable Life Insurance Company, Lufkin Block, Lufkin Redi-Mix, Contractor’s Supply, and Green Acres Nursing Homes.
In 1983 Tom founded DH Investment Company with partner David Hill to develop and manage real estate. Projects included the Pinehollow Business Park in Lufkin; Montgomery Park and Montgomery Plaza in Conroe; Brazos Square Mall & Raintree Apartments in Lake Jackson; Southern Trace Country Club, a master-planned golf community with an award-winning Art Hills golf course in Shreveport; Jester Estates Subdivision, Austin; Wood Glen subdivision into Round Rock; several sections of the Steiner Ranch in Austin; Cordillera Ranch, an 8,500 acre masterplan-planned golf community in Boerne centered on an award-winning Jack Nicklaus golf course on the Guadalupe River; Covered Bridge Master-Planned Community in Austin; High Point Master-Planned Ward and Community Service District in Dripping Springs and Ledge Stone Master-planned Parish and Community Service District in Dripping Springs; and the Deerbrook Plaza office building in Humble. These projects were his focus for 35 years. Over the course of his career, he has been involved in a total of 13,000 acre real estate development and loved creating a lifestyle for its residents that he could call home.
But no Darmy story would be complete without his true love and partner for over six decades, his wife Sallye. Both strong-willed and savvy professionals, Tom and Sallye were a great team of tenacity and kindness. Together they raised two daughters and one son. This hardship was tempered by his love for his five grandchildren and their achievements and passions in both science and sport, which he enjoyed greatly.
Tom leaves behind his 63-year-old wife Sallye Darmstadter; Daughter Diana Darmstadter Anderson and husband Scott Anderson of Houston, TX, and their children Scott Anderson, Jr. and Eleanor Anderson; Daughter Millye Darmstadt Hale and husband Blaine Hale of Dallas, TX and their children Blaine Hale, Jr., Sallye Hale, and Gracie Hale; and son Thomas Darmstadter II from Lufkin and Austin, TX.
Preceded in the death of his father, Henry Charles Darmstadter, Sr .; Mother, Madeleine Wimmenauer Darmstadtter; and brother, Henry Charles Darmstadter, Jr., who died at the age of 43.
Honorary corpse bearers include AV “Buddy” McGraw, Joe Max Green, Benjamin Dee Winston, David Hill, Buddy Zeagler, Jim Pluss, Darrell Beard, Bob Brown, James Hunter III, Stephen Greak, Johnson Ramsey, Jimmy Patton, Jimbo West , Troy Schuster, Rick Jacobs, Mike Sheridan, Wil May, Paul Root, Randy George and Chuck Crowson.
Special thanks go to Jose Transito Barrera, who has been a loyal employee for 34 years, as well as “Tom’s Girls” consisting of Sarah Voss, Glenda Barnes, Felicia McBride and Jane Standifird. Also his supervisor in the past 11 months, JR Stein, who affectionately addressed Darmy as “the President” and gave consolation and compassion to Tom, Sallye and the entire family.
In place of the usual reminders, the family gratefully requests that Darmy’s place on the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council of Deep East Texas http://adacdet.org or Book Buddies of East Texas http://bboet.org be honored.
The family asks you to be respectful, wear masks, and practice social distancing.
Reminders and condolences can be added at http://www.carrowayfuneralhome.com.
Carroway Funeral Home, Lufkin, Directors.
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