Thomas Pertierra 's Obituary
Thomas Anthony Pertierra passed away on February 4 at Brynwood Rehabilitation Center in Monticello, FL. Tom was born in Atlanta and grew up in Ormond Beach, FL. He graduated from Mainland High School in Daytona Beach in 1968. Tom attended Tallahassee Community College and Florida State University, making it a priority to attend as many home and away Seminole football games as possible.Tom and his wife of 46 years, Betsy Joan Pertierra, moved to Greenville, FL from Orlando in 1999. Tom was a successful business owner representing Garrett Metal Detectors Security Division for over 30 years. He also co-founded the National Association of Police Equipment Distributors and served as the Administrative Director since 1990.
Tom became interested in archaeology at an early age and he pursued that passion as an avocational archaeologist until he suffered a stroke in 2013. He founded the Southeastern Paleoamerican Society, a support organization for archaeological investigations such as the Page-Ladson Project and university field schools held by USC and UTK. He also produced several national archaeological conferences and served on the board of the Center for the Study of First Americans and the Aucilla Research Institute. His hobbies included flint knapping, lithic analysis and scuba diving. Tom and Betsy shared a love for animals and the outdoors. They enjoyed years of hard work building a small ranch as a home for their numerous dogs, cats, horses and other livestock.
Tom and was predeceased by his loving mother Jeanne Shuman Pertierra and is survived by his father Henry Anthony Pertierra of Tallahassee, FL. A celebration of Tom's life will be held at a later date. Memorial donations may be made in Tom's name to Aucilla Research Institute, Inc. 555 N. Jefferson St. Monticello, FL 32344 for a scholarship fund.
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