Rex Allen Vance, Sr., 75, of Troy, Alabama, and Chattanooga, Tennessee, passed away in Montgomery on Wednesday, November 4, 2009, after a brief illness.
He was born in Troy, on October 17, 1934, to the late T.K. Vance and Mildred Vance, and spent his childhood and young adult life there. He graduated from Troy High School and Troy State University.
He spent almost 50 years in the photography industry, in roles ranging from photographer to owner and president of several companies, to executive management at several larger firms. He spent the majority of his career in the Chattanooga TN area, prior to his retirement in 2007. During his career he visited virtually every state in the union, and had an uncanny ability to navigate around even in cities he had not visited before.
Mr. Vance was a Korean War-era veteran of the United States Navy Reserve.
His interests included reading, cooking, travel (including trips to Europe in 1989 and 2008), and being a “gentleman farmer” at his retirement cabin outside of Troy.
He is survived by his mother Mildred, of Troy; his children, Allen (Pam) of Dunwoody, Georgia; Gibson (Kate) of Montgomery; Bryan (Tina) of Johnson City, Tennessee; Jimmy (Vanessa), of Chattanooga, Tennessee; Michael Martin (Mae), of Alpharetta, Georgia; and Chris Castleberry (James) of Valdosta, Georgia; his grandchildren Langdon, Kate, Carter, Andrew, Ivey, Thomas, Garrett, Elijah, Megan, and Jamie; and many dear friends.
He was pre-deceased by his father T.K., younger brother Jimmy, and recently by his wife Martha.
Funeral services will be held at Dillard Funeral Home in Troy on Friday, November 6, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. with visitation from 12:00 to 1:00pm on Friday. Private family graveside will follow.
The family would like to thank his many close, long-time friends in Alabama and Tennessee, and asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in his name to the Southern Poverty Law Center, www.splcenter.org.
Please visit our website at www.dillardfh.com to sign the guestbook.