San Antonio family gathers to honor life of man killed in house fire

Tommie Anderson was a funeral director in town for decades

SAN ANTONIO – A family in mourning remembered the life of a man known widely across the city as “Mr. T” on Friday night.

Tommie Anderson was a funeral director in town for decades. He died last week after his house on the Southeast Side caught on fire.

In the days after his death, his family has been determined to give him a proper goodbye, and now they want the public to be a part of it.

“He was be missed immensely,” Tommye Anderson III, his son, said. “My dad meant so much to so many others.”

Arson investigators told KSAT after the fire that they believed a motorized mobility chair sparked the house fire that led to Anderson’s death. Tommye Anderson III was there as fire crews fought the flames.

“It didn’t burn to the point that (the house) cannot be saved,” Tommye Anderson III said. “But we can’t deal with it.”

“What did this place mean to him?” KSAT reporter Avery Everett asked.

“This was his safe haven,” Tommye Anderson III said.

The hearse carrying Anderson drove past his home one last time on Friday afternoon.

“Why was it so important to drive your dad past this one last time?” Everett asked.

“This is home,” Tommye Anderson III said.

The funeral for Anderson will be held on Saturday at the “Exciting” West End Baptist Church at 11 a.m. at 925 Culebra Road.


About the Authors
Avery Everett headshot

Avery Everett is a news reporter and multimedia journalist at KSAT 12 News. Avery is a Philadelphia native. If she’s not at the station, she’s either on a hiking or biking trail. A lover of charcuterie boards and chocolate chip cookies, Avery’s also looking forward to eating her way through San Antonio, one taco shop at a time!

Gavin Nesbitt is an award-winning photojournalist and video editor who joined KSAT in September 2021. He won a Lone Star Emmy, a Regional Murrow, a Texas Broadcast News Award, a Headliners Foundation Silver Showcase Award and 2 Telly Awards for his work covering the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

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