“I can still smell the old school today and [hear] the cheers on Friday night.” said Soddy Daisy High School’s former student Thomas Levi when we interviewed him. I’d imagine this nostalgia was only magnified when he found out he was getting inducted into the Soddy Daisy High School Hall of Fame.
Mr. Levi was class president his freshman and sophomore year, played football from 1949 to 1953 and became a four-year letterman, and participated in BETA Club. Throughout high school, he was elected to All TVC, All City Defense, and Honorable Mention All State 1953.
“I was blessed to have an association with so many wonderful students that were so close in our four years together. Our friendship has lasted over seventy years.” Mr. Levi said he attends the class meeting every two to five years after graduating.
He also mentioned his favorite teacher from high school, “Miss Ruth Swingle.” Mr. Levi described her as being “able to narrate history in such a way that commanded your attention… in such a way that you felt you were an early settler, or smell the gun smoke at Chickamauga.”
Mr. Levi has since been employed at W.R. Grace Chemical Company and C.F. Industries Incorporation for a combined employment time of forty-one years. In his line of work, he performed the duties of a laboratory supervisor, radiation health physics supervisor, and environmental manager. He retired from his chemist workforce in 1997.
Mr. Levi is also heavily involved in the Soddy Daisy Community. He is a board member of Soddy Daisy Montlake Historical Association, president of Soddy Daisy Alumni Association(1997-1998), Hill Crest Adopt A School Member(1989-1992), Volunteer Memorial Hospital(1997-2006), Tennessee Aquarium(2005-2018), Rescue Effort Katrina, and Haiti Construction. Mr. Levi shared his purpose for being so involved in the community, “I have spent most of my life in the Soddy Daisy area to make it a better place… I still try, whenever possible, to influence young and old to protect our natural wonders for future generations.”