Thomas B. Vanner, 86, of Sherwood Lane, Greenville died Friday, July 1, 2011 at Fatima Hospital, North Providence. He was the husband of Elva L. (Phillips) Vanner. They were married for 63years.
Born in Johnston, RI, he was a son of the late Bartholomew and Anna (Iannuccilli) Vanner. He had lived in Greenville since 1964. He was a physicist with Amperex, Raytheon, Datel and Sprague until his retirement.
He was a WWII Air Force veteran having served as a B-17 Ball Turret Gunner with the 8th Air Force, 1st Divison, 398th Bomb Group, 602nd Squadron in the European theater. He was an avid golfer and was a member of Glocester Country Club. He was a former councilman with the Town of Smithfield and a former member of the Smithfield Planning Board.
He is also survived by his sons, Thomas J. Vanner and Frank C. Vanner both of Smithfield, sisters, Gladys Austen of Margate, FL, Delores Buissick of West Warwick, Joyce Psilopoulos of North Smithfield and his grandchildren, Dawn, Mary, Stacey, Thomas and Tyler.He was the father of the late June M. Smith and brother of the late Byron and Donald Vanner.
His funeral service will be held Wednesday, July 6, 2011 at 10am in St. Thomas Church, Putnam Pike, Greenville. Burial with military honors in Highland Park, Johnston. Visitation Tuesday 4-7pm in the ANDERSON-WINFIELD Funeral Home, Route 44 at Greenville Common, Greenville. In lieu of flowers donations in his memory may be made to Button Hole Golf, One Button Hole Drive, Providence, RI 02909