John Thomas Skinner Jr

John Thomas “Tommy” Skinner Jr., a resident of DeWitt, Virginia, died at home on January 16, 2014, after a long illness. He was 55 years old.

Born on December 5, 1958, he was raised in Petersburg, Virginia, and attended Petersburg High School. He enjoyed a thirty-year career assembling products for The HON Company, a manufacturer of office furniture, in Chester, Va., followed by a short stint spinning metal fibers at DuPont’s Spruance Plant, near Richmond. He is survived by his son, John T. Skinner III, of Morehead City, North Carolina; his longtime and devoted companion Brenda Carpenter; his former wife, Karen Skinner, of Richmond; two sisters, Elizabeth Skinner Carduff, of Melrose, Massachusetts, and Mary Carol Skinner, of Florence, Massachusetts; and his niece Emily V. Carduff and nephew Eliot Skinner Carduff, both of Melrose, Mass. He was the son of the late John T. and Alice V. Skinner.

Tommy valued family above all else, had a talent for gardening and grilling, loved fishing, guns, and the out-of-doors, and cherished his many dogs. The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Monday, January 20, 2014 at the Petersburg Chapel of J.T. Morriss and Son Funeral Home, 103 S. Adams Street, Petersburg, Virginia . A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 21, 2014 at the funeral home, with Fr. Jay Wagner, Celebrant. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his name to the ASPCA., P.O. Box 92969, Washington, DC 20090-6929. To view an online tribute and sign his memory book, please visit www.jtmorriss.com .