Forest Hills man dedicated himself to helping others
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Thomas M. Nunnally was such an inspirational person that his many good deeds spurred others to perform many of their own.
Such was the experience of Bob Dove, a fellow member of the Forest Hills Rotary Club. Mr. Dove was so moved by Mr. Nunnally’s mission trip to Urukundo Village in Muhanga, Rwanda, and his ongoing support of villagers that in late May he led a mission group there from Waverly Presbyterian Church in Regent Square.
“He was a terrific role model. I plan to go back for a year with my wife. This is all because of the work Tom had done previously. The motto of the Rotary is ‘Service above self.’ He exemplified that motto.”
Indeed, Mr. Nunnally was one of 150 Rotarians worldwide to receive the Service Above Self Award.
Mr. Nunnally, 74, of Forest Hills died Monday following a brief illness.
A native of Athens, Ga., he graduated from the University of Georgia in 1964 and earned an MBA from the University of Arizona in 1970. Mr. Nunnally was an officer in the Naval Supply Corps of the Navy and served during the Vietnam War.
Moving to Pittsburgh in 1975, he served as a senior loan executive in a number of Pittsburgh banks before becoming the chief executive officer of Iron and Glass Bank in the early 1990s. Later, he co-founded and was senior vice president of Enterprise Bank. He retired in 2004 but remained on the bank’s board of directors until his passing.
Mr. Nunnally served on Forest Hills Council and was a volunteer driver for “flivver,” a mini-bus for Forest Hills elderly shopping and medical trips. He was honored as Forest Hills Citizen of the Year in 2014. He was an active member of All Saints Church in Verona and a trustee of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh.
His work for Rotary International and the Forest Hills Rotary Club centered on the Hope Made Real and Pure Water For All projects.
Arlene Brown, known as “Mama Arlene”, called Mr. Nunnally the “patron saint” of Urukundo Village, an orphanage, school, farm and sewing center complex that she started a decade ago outside of the capital of Kigali.
“There are not enough words to describe Tom and his love and dedication to Urukundo and our children,” she said by email from the village. She was living in Williamsport, Lycoming County, before moving to Rwanda.
“Clean, pure water was a passion for Tom as a Rotarian. Thanks to Tom, Urukundo and a community of over 3,000 now has a constant source of clean water.”
Moreover, she said, Mr. Nunnally was instrumental in developing the Urukundo Learning Center — his birthday gift to his wife of 48 years, Carolyn, was a donation that built the first buildings in the preschool. He also provided scholarships for students and sponsored two children from the village who are now in high school.
“His latest project was solar electricity for the homes of the children and, lastly, he extended that source of electricity to the farm. Everywhere I look I see Tom and his love,” she wrote.
Mr. Dove, also of Forest Hills, said that wherever his friend saw a need “he thought of ways he could help. He also was a very humble man. A lot of the financial contributions he made and support he gave were put in the name of the Rotary Club because he didn’t want to take credit for things. He did it in a servant way.”
In addition to his wife, survivors include a son, Matthew of Savannah, Ga.; two daughters, Annie Eason of Asheville, N.C. and Hope Haynes of Cranberry; a sister, Nancy LaFavor of Tybee Island, Ga.; and three grandchildren.
Friends will be received today from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at Wolfe Memorial Inc., Forest Hills Chapel, 3604 Greensburg Pike. The service will be Friday at 11 a.m. at All Saints Church, 5501 Third St., Verona. Mourners are asked to meet at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hope Made Real, P.O. Box 3222, Williamsport, PA 17701, or All Saints Church.
Michael A. Fuoco: mfuoco@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1968. Twitter: @michaelafuoco