Thomas
Thomas Lessell Dale, Jr.
d. April 21, 2020
A beloved husband, father and grandfather, Tommy was a fixture in Henderson, Vance County and surrounding communities for over 8 decades. He was a graduate of Henderson High School before serving his country in the United States Army during the Korean conflict. During that time, he was assigned to the Army Signal Corp. There he was responsible for maintaining communications between the front lines in Korea and the headquarters in Japan. Upon discharge from the service, he studied radio engineering at Valparaiso Technical Institute before returning to Vance County and pursued his lifelong passion in communication. After operating a successful television and radio repair service for several years, he founded Virginia-Carolina Communications specializing in providing two-way radio service to practically every police department, sheriff’s department, fire department, rescue service, medical entity, and business in north-central North Carolina and south-central Virginia. He was responsible for helping establish the 911 service in Vance County and neighboring communities and served as the Chairman of the Vance County 911 Committee for many years. Tommy was also President of Comrep, Inc., a company he founded with his brother-in-law, I. H. "Vick" Vickery, Jr., which continues to provide tower service to many businesses, government entities and broadcasters. On a national level, he was highly recognized for his expertise in radio communications and served for many years on the Association of Communications Technicians (ACT) Council and was invited, along with other Council members, to China to demonstrate public safety communications.
Throughout his life, Tommy was a member of the First Baptist Church, the First United Methodist Church, and the Middleburg United Methodist Church. At Middleburg, he was an active member and served on several committees, including Chairman of the Administrative Board.
Most importantly Tommy was a devoted family man. He is survived by his loving wife of over 50 years, Elizabeth Ward Stephenson Dale of the home; two sons, James "Jimmy" Benjamin Stephenson, II (Theresa) and Randolph Michael Stephenson (Cheryl); four precious granddaughters, Chason Elizabeth Stephenson, Dale Virginia Stephenson, Milena K. Stephenson and Natalia K. Stephenson; one sister, Mary Ann Dale Martin (Robert); three nieces, Marianne Martin Frye, Robin Martin Grenchik, and Elizabeth Martin Chao; one nephew, John Christopher Martin; two grand nephews, Christopher Lee Kerr and Issac Edward Grenchik; and a grand niece, Zoe Elizabeth Chao.
If anyone wishes to pay their respects, they may do so Thursday from 1:00pm until 5:00pm and Friday from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm at J.M. White Funeral Home.
Tommy’s life will be celebrated in a private family service officiated by Rev. Eddie Nutt at 11:00 am on Saturday at Elmwood Cemetery in Henderson and will be available for viewing on Saturday underneath this obituary.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Ruin Creek Animal Protection Society (RCAPS), 165 US Hwy 158 Bypass, Henderson, NC 27537.
J.M. White Funeral Home regrets that audio is not available for the recording of the service below.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Thomas Lessell Dale, Jr., please visit our flower store.
Guestbook
Visits: 0
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors