Earl Petty (Tom's Dad)
Vanessa
Saturday, December 11, 1999
OBITUARIES Earl Petty
Earl Petty, the Gainesville insurance man whose son became a world-famous
rock star, died Friday morning after a long history of illness. He was 75.
Tom Petty's dad still lived in the house he bought in 1947, where he and
wife, Katherine, raised Tom, now 49, and Bruce, 47.
"He died comfortably at home," said Gainesville Police Department Capt.
Sadie Darnell, Mr. Petty's niece, who grew up in the house next door.
Although the cause of death has not been determined, Mr. Petty, who retired
in 1988, suffered from diabetes, emphysema and other ailments.
A native of Bronson, Mr. Petty was an Air Force groundsman in Egypt during
World War II. After the war, he returned to Gainesville and went to work as
a truck driver for the Eli Witt tobacco and candy company.
After he married Katherine "Kitty" Avery in 1947, Mr. Petty was hired as an
underwriter by the National Standard Insurance Co. He and his wife both
taught Sunday school at North Central Baptist Church.
Katherine Petty died in 1980, the same year Tom released his first
million-selling album.
"I didn't ever think he'd make anything in music," Mr. Petty told The Sun in
1990. "But I admired him for doing it; it made me feel good having somebody
in the family that could play a tune, because none of the rest of us could."
Funeral arrangements are pending.
-- Bill Deyoung
Earl Petty
Earl Petty of Gainesville died Friday at his home. He was 75.
Mr. Petty, the father of rock star Tom Petty, was a retired insurance
salesman for National Standard Life Insurance Co. in Gainesville. He
formerly owned Petty's Wholesale Dry Goods Co.
Born in Argyle, Ga., he moved from Argyle to Gainesville 69 years ago. He
served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II.
He was a deacon and a Sunday school teacher at North Central Baptist Church.
Mr. Petty enjoyed fishing, and after retirement, he volunteered at "The
Tackle Box," a fishing store in Gainesville.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Katherine "Kitty" Petty.
Survivors include two sons, Bruce Petty of Tallahassee and Tom Petty of
California; a sister, Pearl Guynn of Ocala; two brothers, Wesley Petty and
Buck Petty, both of Old Town; and four grandchildren.