Man of Avon: William M. Tornow '94

KINGSTON, GA August 24, 2018 William McNair Tornow, age 43, of Kingston, GA, passed away unexpectedly on Friday, August 24, 2018. Born in Winston-Salem, NC, McNair was the son of Anne Bingham Philpott and her husband Ted and Winston McNair Tornow. He attended Summit School and graduated from high school at Avon Old Farms in Avon, CT. He received his BA from Wake Forest University and was a member of the Kappa Alpha Fraternity. He worked in management at Enterprise in Atlanta, Georgia and Columbus, Ohio before returning to Atlanta to become a recruiter for Merritt Hawkins and later for Lucas Group. He recently had formed MT Executive Search and was self-employed. McNair was devoted to his job and took great pleasure in meeting and serving the needs of his clients. McNair was a sweet rascal as a child and mischievous as an adult. He was very generous and had compassion for children, animals and people with special needs. He worked summers at Camp Carefree in Stokesdale, NC. He had several rescue dogs. He was passionately devoted to Wake Forest Athletics and despised carolina blue. McNair especially enjoyed debating (or baiting) family and friends on any number of topics including politics, sports, personal finance and current events. McNair was preceded in death by his grandparents, Dr. William Louis Bingham Sr. of Lexington, NC, Dr. and Mrs. Winston Henry Tornow of Laurinburg, NC, Mr. and Mrs. John Robert Philpott and Mrs. Louise Hilton Philpott, of Lexington and uncle J. Robert Philpott Jr. of Charlotte, NC. He is survived by his daughter McKenzie Taylor Tornow of Acworth, GA; wife Kathy, son Aiden Michael Tornow and her daughter Shay Hooper of Kingston, Ga.; grandmother Evelyn Whittenton Bingham of Lexington, NC; mother and step-father, Anne and Ted Philpott of Winston-Salem, NC; father Winston McNair Tornow and his wife Debi of Banner Elk, NC; sister Cameron Tornow Holcomb of Greensboro, NC, her husband Bryan and their children Ella and Matthew; brother Cabell Philpott of Winston-Salem, NC and wife Kristin and their children Ella and Maggie Atkinson; sister Lytch Tornow Gutmann of Houston, Texas and husband Adam; step-brother Bill Best of Charlotte, NC and wife Shawna and their children Keller and Jackson. He was also blessed by a host of aunts, uncles and many cousins and friends who dearly love him and enjoyed his love of life. There will be two memorial services. The first will be conducted by Dr. David Smith of Lenoir, NC at Lakeside Funeral Home in Woodstock, GA on Saturday, Sept 1, 2018 at 2:00 PM followed by a reception. The second service will be conducted by Dr. Bob Setzer at Knollwood Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, NC on Thursday, September 6, 2018 at 2:00 PM with a reception immediately following in the Fellowship Hall. The family requests that any memorials be made on the web sites of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society or Camp Carefree, 275 Carefree Lane, Stokesdale, NC, 27357.