Chris Burgoyne wrote that he always expected Tom to come walking back in The Coffee Mill door some night. I guess we all did. He moved around quite a bit following his retirement as a police officer, always in search of a good music scene and jam session. I am glad that he deigned to play with us during those summer months when he nested in Southwest Virginia. His music made the world a happier, better place; now, that same world mourns the silence of his rippling five-string.
Tom's obituary is below:
John Thomas Layton – 70, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, passed away Thursday – October 30, 2008, in a local hospital.
He was preceded in death by his father, John Berry Layton, sister, Virginia Chadwick and son, John Thomas Layton, Jr.
He was a member of Lyndon Avenue Baptist Church and served as the facilities director.
Mr. Layton retired from the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. He had a great love for blue grass music and enjoyed playing the banjo.
Survivors include his five children, Bonnie Gail Carpenter, Huntingtown, MD., Robert Paul Layton, Baltimore, MD., David Wayne Layton, Chattanooga, TN., Bryan James Layton, Baltimore, MD., Juanita Ann Shepherd, Vancouver, WA., 10 grandchildren, Robbie, Christina, Sarah, Johnny, Paul, Jacquelyn, Caroline, Jonathan, Lauren, Rachel, three great grandchildren, Mikayla, Kevin, Petey, mother, Mazella Layton, Silver Springs, MD., two sisters, June Henson, Rockville, MD., Dottie Herrington, Frederick, MD., and several nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m., Saturday in the Valley View Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home with Pastor Wayne Layton officiating. Interment will follow in New McDonald Cemetery in Ooltewah, TN.
The family will receive friends from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m., Friday at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to: Lyndon Avenue Baptist Church – Building Fund, 2624 Lyndon Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37415.
Please share your thoughts and memories online at www.mem.com
Arrangements by Chattanooga Funeral Home – Valley View Chapel, 7414 Old Lee Highway Chattanooga, TN 37421
2 comments:
This is a bummer. Tom was an example of a couple things to me as I tried to become a bluegrass musician. When I came to the jam, he was one of the lead guys, and Tom was one of the guys who was really friendly from the get-go. If you want a jam to happen, you have to make new people welcome, and he did that. He was an older bluegrass guy with obvious talent, and a clear reverence for traditional bluegrass. So with Tom, and likewise Vernon, and some of the older players, if I ever got a nod of affirmation from them, I figured I was on the right track, and it meant a lot. Tom was a model in that way, a really good player who encouraged newer players to play and play better. Christine always laughs when I reveal in one way or another how little I actually know about the jam folks who I spend such a large portion of my time with. I tell her, "We don't talk much, we pick." And so it was with Tom. I don't think I knew he was a policeman. I think I thought he was a farmer. I knew he could play, though. Let's pick a Theme Time!
I think you comments are right on track. He was pretty encouraging to me when I started on the mando. He would always offer a break, and never failed to say that I was getting better. He and I talked a little about law enforcement. Once we found out we had that in common, he told me some things about when he started out in DC. The places he worked foot patrol, none of us would want to DRIVE throught at that time in DC history. He had to be one tough dude!
He played and sang "Prayer Bells" a bunch, too. One of the first I had heard do it in a long time. I'm glad we got to jam with him when we did..........
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