On April 17, 2020, Tom Mays passed away at his home in Hendersonville. He was 72-years old.
Tom spent over 30 years as an ad man, starting his career at WBIR in Knoxville before moving to Nashville where he worked as an artist, creative director, and accounts manager for local ad agencies, devoting the majority of his career to Bill Hudson & Assoc. His clients included Wrangler and Red Cap, McDonald's, the Tennessee State Fair, and a number of country music artists and race teams, just to name a few.
Tom was a talented artist, photographer, and trumpet player. He passed along his talents to his grandchildren, and took great joy in their artistic, athletic, and academic accomplishments. Tom was an avid racing fan, spending his weekends as a member of several racing teams at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway and racing a Triumph TR3 on the vintage racing circuit. His other interests included the UT Vols, the Nashville Predators, fishing, golf, and reading.
Tom is preceded in death by his mother Mildred Louise (Murphy Mays) Merritt, his father Claude Mays, and his sister Judy Mays Watts.
He is survived by his daughter Angie Cox (Chris), son Brad Mays, and son Allen Mays (Lori); his 12 grandchildren, Eric Cox (Jessica), Evan Cox (Callie), Lauren Cox, Ryan Cox, Kendall Cox, Jacob Cox, Ethan Cox, Abigail Cox, Michael Mays, Jolie Mays, Keaton Mays, and Laekyn Mays; and his 2 great-grandchildren, Brantley Cox and Blake Cox.
The family will gather at a later date for a time of remembrance and celebration. Tom will be greatly missed by his family, friends, and neighbors.