Thomas Carnes ("T.C.") Buford, a prominent cotton, rice and soybean farmer residing at Buford Hall in Glendora, MS died Sunday, February 23, 2020.  He was 100 years old.

T.C. was born on December 8, 1919, the son of Thomas Carnes Buford, Sr. and Lillian Sturdivant Buford.  He began his education in a "One Room" schoolhouse in Glendora, before transferring to Clarksdale at an early age and graduated from high school there.

From age 6 to 16 he attended summer camp at Camp Carolina in North Carolina. He enrolled at Ole Miss in 1937 where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity and in the Reserve Officer Training Corp.  He transferred to Washington and Lee University and received a B.S. degree in 1941.

T.C. then attended the Harvard University Business School, graduating in 1943 in the top 20 percent of his class and receiving an MBA degree.

T.C. volunteered for military duty in World War II, and attended OCS at Camp Harahan in New Orleans. Upon completion, he was assigned to the U.S. Army Transportation Corps at Hampton Roads, Virginia, Port of Embarkation, filling orders for ships bound for the European theater.  Following this, he was sent to Marseille, France as a cargo security officer on a liberty ship to support the invasion of Southern France.  When the war was winding down, he was reassigned to Command and General Staff School, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, then assigned to General McArthur's staff at his headquarters first in Manila, Philippines, and then in Tokyo.  Returning home, he was discharged with the rank of Captain.

On July 16, 1955, T.C. married Ada Gwin Pryor, and they were blessed with four daughters. T. C. was active in many business and social circles of the Mississippi Delta.

From 1968 to 1989, he was Chairman of the Board of Bell, Inc., Inverness, MS, an agricultural equipment manufacturer. He also served as Tallahatchie County executive committee chairman of the Republican Party, and served for fifteen years on the Tallahatchie County Department of Agriculture, ASC Committee.  He was a member of the Sumner Rotary Club, receiving the Paul Harris award, a longtime member of the Memphis Country Club, the University Club of Memphis, and The Bayou Bend Golf and Country Club of Sumner.

He was a member of the Episcopal Church of the Advent, Sumner, MS, where he served in many capacities including vestryman, and senior warden. His beloved 'nurse', Mammy Jane, first taught him to fish, sitting in her lap, on Black Bayou along with her son, T.C.'s best friend, B'rer Powell. Mr. Jones Barksdale, a family friend and great quail hunter, kindly mentored him in the skill of shooting.  T.C. developed a love for the outdoors at an early age and his hunting and fishing skills became legendary. Throughout his life, he was an avid hunter, fisherman, and conservationist.  He traveled the world pursuing these interests, shooting pheasant and grouse on the great estates of England, partridge in Spain, fishing in Iceland, Argentina, Mexico and Latin America.  He was president of Beulah Island Hunting Club from 1962-2006; a member of the Nipisi Salmon and St. Bernard Fishing Clubs of Canada; the Moisie River Salmon Club, Quebec, Canada; the Anglers' Club of New York; and a director and later honorary director of The Atlantic Salmon Federation.  He set a world record in 1982, catching a 29 lb. Atlantic salmon on a 4 lb. tippet.

T.C. was a true southern gentleman with an easy manner and sharp wit. He enjoyed and appreciated a wealth of friends throughout his life.

T.C. is survived by his wife, Gwin Pryor Buford, and his four daughters, Lillian Lee Buford Threadgill (Burney), Gwin Pryor Buford Lampton (Robert), Sarah Gill Buford Goodwyn (George), and Donna Mills Buford Spell and ten grandchildren , Thomas Carnes Buford Threadgill (Elisabeth), Sarah Dabney Petrusnek (John), Aubrey Farrell Threadgill, Lewis Adolphus Graeber, IV, Mims Buford Graeber, Cullom Walker IV, Gwin Pryor Walker, Gill Buford Walker, Lillian Margaret Spell, and Porter Buford Spell.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister, Donna Buford Mills, son-in-law, Robert Spell, nephews, Mike S. Mills and Edgar D. Graham, and niece, Lillian Graham Carson.

Visitation for T.C. will be held at The Episcopal Church of the Advent, Sumner, MS, Saturday, February 29, 2020 from 1:00 - 2:15 PM. Service will follow at 2:30 PM. Reception to follow the service at The Sumner Grille, Sumner, MS.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Episcopal Church of the Advent, PO Box 366, Sumner, MS 38957.