Thomas Russell Northcott, age 69 of Tullahoma, Tennessee passed away, Friday, February 13, 2015.
Services will be held Saturday, February 21 at 3:30 PM at First Baptist Church of Tullahoma with Dr. Clay Ward officiating.
Dr. Northcott was born in Richmond, Indiana, on June 5, 1945, to the late Charles P. and Mary Alice Northcott.
He and his family, sister, Deborah J. Gray of Tullahoma and brother, C. Chris Northcott, moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1950 where he graduated from Broad Ripple High School in 1963 along with his wife-to-be, Nancy Tucker.
He and Nancy graduated from Ball State University in 1967 and were married three weeks later. Nancy taught high school English while Dr. Northcott attended Indiana University School of Dentistry, graduating in 1971. Dr. Northcott served as a captain in the US Army Dental Corps at Ft. McClellan, Alabama, from 1971-1973. In 1976, he completed the oral and maxillofacial surgery specialty program at Wishard Memorial Hospital in Indianapolis. After a two year associateship in Salem, Indiana, in 1978 he moved his family to Tullahoma and established his private practice. During his 30-year practice, Dr. Northcott was privileged to treat over 40,000 patients and hold staff privileges at seven area hospitals. He was founder and director of the Middle TN Society for Advanced Dentistry (1992-2008), a nationally recognized study club for area dentists and their staffs primarily for the advancement of implant dentistry. Dr. Northcott retired in 2008.
As a young child, Dr. Northcott recognized that he needed a Savior and that God provided salvation through the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. Realizing God’s grace solution, Dr. Northcott believed in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He was persistent throughout his life in his desire to serve and glorify Jesus Christ. He and his family organized and hosted various Bible-study groups over the years. In 2002, he participated in the founding of Pleroma Bible Church in Tullahoma. His son-in-law, Dr. Clay Ward accepted the call to pastor the church, and Dr. Northcott served as chairman of the Board of Deacons until 2013. He co-authored a book, Dying Happy, in which he recounted that even though slowly dying of cancer, he experienced a wonderful increase of peace, contentment, joy, and confidence through his faith in Jesus Christ and his intimate walk with God through knowledge of God’s Word.
He is survived by his wife, Nancy, and four children: Dr. Chris and Melissa (Northcott) Anderson (Olivia, Ethan, & Tucker), Craig and Becky (Reed) Northcott (Katie & Sam), Dr. Clay and Amy (Northcott) Ward (Andrew, Reagan, Jonathan, Hannah, Abigail & Lydia), and Thomas W. and Aubrie (Knowlton) Northcott (Renee, Thomas D., Emma Claire & Evelyn).
In the spirit of “the grass withers, and the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever”, Dr. Northcott requested that any memorial donations be made to Pleroma Bible Church, P O Box 1178, Tullahoma, TN 37388 or Disciple Makers Multiplied, P O Box 3570, Harlingen, TX 78550.
DAVES-CULBERSTON FUNERAL HOME IS IN CHARGE OF ARRANGEMENTS