Thomas A. Fields

Tupelo--Thomas Augustus Fields, 91, died Monday at the Sanctuary Hospice House in Tupelo following a brief illness.

A resident of Tupelo since 1926, Mr. Fields was born May 21, 1918, in Bartlesville, Okla. His parents were William Buchanan Fields and Alice Norton Fields.

He was for 31 years " 1952 to 1983 " the co-owner, with E.L. Joyner, Jr., of Joyner-Fields Manufacturing Co., a garment maker.

Mr. Fields was an honors graduate of Tupelo High School in 1936, attended Riverside Military Academy in Georgia in 1936-37, and was a student at Mississippi State University in 1937-38. At Mississippi State, he was initiated a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

He graduated first in his class at the Philadelphia (Pa.) Textile School in 1940.

He began his career, in sales, with the Joshua Bailey Co. in New York in 1940-41. The firm owned cotton mills in Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

In the fall of 1941 he enlisted in the Flying Cadets, graduating from training with academic honors.

He went on to serve for five years, 1941 to 1946, in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II. He achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel.

He first served with the Troop Carrier Command, with postings in California, Texas, Mississippi, Missouri.

He then was named commanding and activating officer of the 15th Combat Cargo Squadron, with service in Syracuse, N.Y., Louisville, Ky., and in the China-Burma-India Theater. He flew supply routes from Syllhet, Argatella and Chittagong, India, to Myitchna, Burma. He flew the hump of the Himalayas to China.

He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the American Defense Ribbon, the Asiatic/Pacific Campaign Ribbon and the Victory Medal.
His name, with those of other hump pilots, is enshrined at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

He continued in the U.S. Air Force Reserve until 1955.

After the war, Mr. Fields returned to Tupelo and joined his familys business, Tupelo Mid South Manufacturing Co., which became Blue Bell, Inc.

He then again worked for Joshua Bailey in Chicago before returning to Tupelo in 1950, forming the Joyner-Fields partnership, which began operations in 1952.

Mr. Fields was an elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Tupelo, where he also had served as a deacon and remained an active member until his health declined.

He had served as a director of Community Federal Savings & Loan in Tupelo and First Financial in Tupelo, was a longtime member of the Tupelo Rotary Club and of the Mississippi Manufacturers Association.

In 1934, as the first Eagle Scout in Tupelos Troop 3, he was the U.S. flag bearer for the parade honoring President Franklin Roosevelts historic visit to proclaim Tupelo the First TVA City.

He and Mr. Joyner worked with Troop 3 as adult leaders after World War II.

In 1933, he was a member of the Yocona Area Council Troop that attended the Chicago Worlds Fair.

In his youth, Mr. Fields, who learned to swim at the public pool in Tupelo, became, at age 16, the nations youngest Certified Water Safety Instructor for the American Red Cross, and worked across the country in that role.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife, of 43 years, Cora Mullin Fields; his son, William Thomas Fields; and his sister and brother-in-law, Betty and Bob Reed.

He is survived by his wife of 19 years, Betty Byrd Fields, and his daughters, Patricia Cockrell (Butch) of Tupelo, and Pamela Derden, Tupelo; six grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

A private family graveside service will be held Saturday at Glenwood Cemetery, with the Rev. Dr. Thomas P. Groome III officiating. Memorial services will be at 4 p. m. Monday at the First Presbyterian Church of Tupelo, with the Rev. Dr. Ron Richardson officiating. Visitation will be 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the church before the service, in McFadden Hall. W.E. Pegues Funeral Directors is in charge of arrangements.

Honorary pallbearers will be A.J. Pitts, John Robinson, Thomas Childs, Ernie Joyner, Ralph Hershfelt, Travis Abney, Bill Wood, Guy Mitchell III, Joe Rutherford, Clarence Westmoreland, Ben Simons and Julian Riley.

The family requests, in lieu of flowers, memorial donations to First Presbyterian Church, 400 W. Jefferson St. Tupelo MS 38804; Sanctuary Hospice House, PO Box 2177, Tupelo MS 38803; or another charity of the donors choosing.