Thomas Paul Darmstadter

Memorial services for Thomas Paul Darmstadter of Lufkin will be held Saturday, August 28, 2021 at 12:00 noon at St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church in Lufkin, Texas with The Reverend Thomas Morris officiating. Private entombment will take place at the Garden of Memories Memorial Park Sunset Mausoleum in Lufkin, Texas.

Thomas Paul Darmstadter went to be with his Lord and Savior at the age of 86 August 21, 2021 with his beloved wife, Sallye, at his side. He courageously fought an eighteen-month battle with lung cancer.  Affectionately known to all as “Darmy”, Tom was a wonderful man with an unbounding sense of humor and quick wit, was a true gentleman and friend, a loving husband, father, brother and grandfather. His love for Lufkin and the surrounding area was reflected in his continual goal to serve his fellow man.

He had an intense desire to give back to his community through his many contributions, both monetarily and, more importantly, with his time, to local charities. Tom’s greatest personal accomplishment was being a crusader and cheerleader for multiple charitable entities 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 oversaw the construction of the main Burke Center building in Lufkin while simultaneously overseeing the reconstruction and addition to ADAC’s main campus in Lufkin. ADAC dedicated Darmy’s Place in his honor in 2018. Darmy’s Place provides job skills training and long-term recovery support to clients of ADAC. As a role model for his family, Tom was very proud of Diana, Millye and Tom II’s founding of Book Buddies of East Texas, a non-profit which distributes yearly over 60,000 children’s books to elementary school students across Deep East Texas in an effort to assist in combatting the “Summer Slide” in reading comprehension. Also, he was a major fundraiser for his wife’s love and passion for over 20 years, Stubblefield Learning Center, a high school she founded to serve at-risk students in Angelina County.

Devoted to charity endeavors, he had the great honor to serve on the board of the T.L.L. Temple Foundation starting in 2011, replacing Congressman Charlie Wilson after 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 Crown Colony Country Club and a former President.

Born in East Orange, New Jersey in 1934 to parents who emigrated from Germany/Alsace-Lorraine through Ellis Island, he entered the Air Force in 1952 and was Honorably Discharged in December 1954 with the rank of sergeant. Tom attended the University of Alabama as a walk-on to the basketball team and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Commerce and Business in August 1958.

After graduating from the University of Alabama, Tom would go on to work for many major concerns 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 which is now known as The Line Hotel located ideally on Congress Avenue, and he marketed the forty-one acres in Houston which Ken Schnitzer, Sr. ultimately developed and is known as Greenway Plaza which includes multiple 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 phone call from Arthur Temple aka “Big Pop” to move behind the Pine Curtain and go to work for Exeter Investment Company in Lufkin as President and COO. Lufkin would become Tom and Sallye’s forever home. Exeter Investment Company was a private office primarily overseeing real estate for the Temple family and Tom’s oversight would include shopping centers, hotels, nursing homes, apartments and real estate in Acapulco. He was also responsible for overseeing the company's interest in various operating companies which included American Equitable Life Insurance Company, Lufkin Block, Lufkin Redi-Mix, Contractor's Supply and Green Acres Nursing Homes.

In 1983, Tom formed DH Investment Company with partner, David Hill, for the purpose of developing and managing real estate. Projects included Pinehollow Business Park in Lufkin; Montgomery Park as well as Montgomery Plaza in Conroe; Brazos Square shopping center & 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 in Round Rock; several sections of Steiner Ranch in Austin; Cordillera Ranch, an 8,500 acre master-planned golf community in Boerne centered around an award-winning Jack Nicklaus golf course located on the Guadalupe River; Covered Bridge master-planned community in Austin; Highpointe master-planned community and associated Municipal Utility District in Dripping Springs and Ledge Stone master-planned community and associated Municipal Utility District in Dripping Springs; and Deerbrook Plaza office building in Humble. These projects were his focus for thirty-five years. Over the course of his career, he was involved in over a combined 13,000 acres of real estate development and he loved creating a lifestyle for his residents to call home.

But no tale of Darmy would be complete without his true love and partner for over six decades, his wife Sallye. Both strong willed and accomplished professionals in their own right, Tom and Sallye were a great team of toughness and kindness. They raised two daughters and one son together. That toughness was tempered by his love for his five grandchildren and their accomplishments and passions in both academics and sports which brought much joy to him.

Tom is survived by his wife of 63 years, Sallye Darmstadter; daughter, Diana Darmstadter Anderson and her husband Scott Anderson of Houston, TX, and their children Scott Anderson, Jr. and Eleanor Anderson; daughter, Millye Darmstadter Hale and her husband Blaine Hale of Dallas, TX, and their children Blaine Hale, Jr., Sallye Hale, and Gracie Hale; and son Thomas Darmstadter II of Lufkin and Austin, TX.

Preceded in death by his father, Henry Charles Darmstadter, Sr.; mother, Madeleine Wimmenauer Darmstadter; and brother, Henry Charles Darmstadter, Jr. who died at age 43.

Honorary Pallbearers include A.V. “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.

A special appreciation goes out to Jose Transito Barrera who has been a loyal employee for the past 34 years, as well as “Tom’s Girls” comprised of Sarah Voss, Glenda Barnes, Felicia McBride and Jane Standifird. Also, his caregiver over the past 11 months, JR Stein, who fondly addressed Darmy as “the President” and provided comfort and compassion to Tom, Sallye and the entire family.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests with gratitude that memorial contributions be made in his honor to Darmy’s Place at Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council of Deep East Texas http://adacdet.org, or Book Buddies of East Texas http://bboet.org.

The family requests that you be respectful and wear masks and practice social distancing.

Memories and condolences may be added at http://www.carrowayfuneralhome.com.

Carroway Funeral Home, Lufkin, directors.