Carey Thomas "Tom" Vinson
Carey Thomas “Tom” Vinson, Jr. was born on September 5, 1926 in Trigg County, Kentucky. He was the fifth of six children born to Carey Thomas Vinson, Sr. and Mallie Mae Guier Vinson. Carey Sr. was a native of Trigg County, Kentucky and was a well-known farmer and chairman of the local Soil Conservation District. He was a descendant of Cullen Thomas. Mallie was also a native of Trigg County, worked as a homemaker, and was a descendant of Drewry Bridges. Tom’s siblings were Lula Vinson, born in 1919 and married Lawrence Allen Wilson; June Theresa Vinson, born in 1921 and married Johnny Edmond Yeates, Jr.; Jesse Stanley Vinson, born in 1923 and married Kathryn Constance Sweeney; James Monroe Vinson, born in 1925 and died at the age of four months and Clyde Roger Vinson, born in 1940, and married Marcia Randolph Dean and then Ellen Hawley Watson.
Tom grew up in the Warrenton community of Trigg County and attended the one-room Warrenton Elementary School through the seventh grade. He went on to attend Trigg County High School in Cadiz and graduated with the class of 1944. Following graduation, Tom farmed with his father and brother for two years. Then in 1946 he enrolled at the University of Kentucky where he graduated in 1950 with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and biology.
On April 10, 1951, Tom was drafted into the U. S. Army during the Korean Conflict. He was assigned to Fort Jackson, South Carolina where he received sixteen weeks of basic training. Then after attending an eight-week special training school, he was appointed as a classification and assignment clerk in the personnel office at Fort Jackson. On April 9, 1953, he was honorably discharged from the service with the rank of corporal.
Tom returned to Trigg County and again engaged in farming. Two years later in September 1955, Tom was asked by Dr. John Minton, principal of Trigg County High School if he would like to become a teacher. Tom accepted the offer and was employed in the Trigg County School system until his retirement in 1984.
Tom received his master’s degree from Murray State College in 1958 and went on to teach science classes at Trigg County High School until 1961 when he was appointed assistant principal of the high school and administrative principal of the consolidated schools. In 1965, he was appointed to the position of finance officer and later to assistant superintendent of schools. In 1970 he was appointed superintendent of the Trigg County Schools and remained in that position until his retirement in 1984.
On November 23, 1950, which was Thanksgiving Day, Tom married Winnie Nell Petty at the Second Baptist Church in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Nell was born on July 14, 1932 in Christian County, Kentucky the daughter of George Wallace and Nannie Belle Wade Petty. Nell graduated in 1949 from the Sinking Fork High School in Christian County and later graduated from the Lois Glen School of Cosmetology in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Tom and Nell were the parents of four sons, Carey Thomas Vinson, III, born in 1952 and married Tracey Elizabeth Garland; Nathan Wallace Vinson, born in 1954; Forest Wayne Vinson, born in 1955 and married Brenda Butler Shields and James Stanley Vinson, born in 1957 and married Robin Patton Chalmers.
During his career, Tom was a member of numerous educational organizations. In 1980 he was the president of the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents. In 1984 he received the Kentucky Association of School Administrators' annual Distinguished Service Award. Tom also served as a commissioner of the Barkley Lake Water District from 1965 to 1981.
Tom died on March 28, 2023 at the age of 96, at the Princeton Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Princeton, Kentucky. He was buried in the Vinson Cemetery in Trigg County.
Nell Petty Vinson
Tom Vinson tombstone
LINEAGE: (Carey Thomas “Tom” Vinson, Jr. was the son of Carey Thomas, Sr. and Mallie Mae Guier Vinson. He was the grandson of Jesse Monroe and Forrest May Thomas Vinson and Nathan Stanley and Emma Lee Sumner Guier. Jesse Monroe was the fourth child of Henry Cullen and Mary Catherine Sumner Vinson. Henry Cullen was the first child of Thomas Allison and Emeline Thomas Vinson. Emeline was the fifth child of Cullen and Elizabeth Futrell Thomas. Cullen was the first child of James and Mary Standley Thomas. Emma Lee Sumner was the second child of Benjamin Miles and Henrietta Gabrella Bridges Sumner. Henrietta was the first child of Drewry and Peachie Ann Tart Bridges. Drewry was the fourth child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges. William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)
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