John "Tommy" Fawcett

Tommy Fawcett, age 73, of Junction, Texas, died on Monday, August 24, 2026 while in hospice at Menard Manor after a brief illness. He will be remembered on September 10, 2026 at the First Presbyterian Church in Junction at 2 pm with a reception to follow. Jim Barker will officiate with guest homilies from pastors Cliff Stewart and Janice Six, both of whom knew Tommy well in Abilene (First Central Presbyterian Church) while he was living there to be near his sister, Linda Fawcett, from 2007 to 2020.

Tommy was born on April 10, 1953 in San Antonio and placed into adoption. At eight weeks old, he was adopted by John and Floreine Fawcett, who were living in San Antonio at the time. Tommy grew up primarily in Dallas with two brief periods in Houston related to his father’s work in the motor freight business. As a teenager, Tommy continued living with his parents and began working at a freight dock loading and unloading freight until 1973. The family then moved to their property on the North Llano River near Junction, beginning life anew ranching in Kimble County. Tommy continued working – first for his father’s well service company, later at the Junction Stockyards when it was operational, and then at AERT (Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies, Inc.) from 1993 to 2004. Tommy eventually had to take early retirement due to his lifelong struggle with a seizure disorder; it was mostly controlled by medication but became a bigger problem as he grew older, leading to his driver’s license being revoked for similar reasons and thereafter taken to work by his father.

After Tommy’s parents died – Floreine in 2002 and John in 2007 – Tommy moved to Abilene to live with and later be near his sister, Linda, who had been teaching art at Hardin-Simmons University since 1981. Something that Tommy and Linda shared was a love of hiking in Big Bend National Park, both in the mountains and the desert; they spent every Christmas there from 2010 to 2022.

After about 10 months in Abilene, Tommy’s neurologist allowed him (with medication) to work part-time. Tommy began his last career working for ABM, mostly outside on the campus of Hardin-Simmons. This was very important to Tommy; he had learned early on from his parents the value of work not only as a source of income but more importantly as a part of his identity and self-image. In 2008, Tommy moved into a state Adult Foster Care arrangement in Abilene that worked well for him – a program in which he could live and work from a private home. Significantly, Tommy also became a very active member of the First Central Presbyterian Church where his sister attended. Tommy was considered a dependable and valuable employee by his boss at ABM and worked until a combination of COVID and his sister’s retirement led both to move to the family ranch near Junction in May 2020. From then on, as long as he physically could, Tommy was a strong ranch hand and overall great help to Linda. He loved animals – particularly his big dog, Magi, who he walked twice a day almost until his last illness – and Piper, a recent addition. Tommy even loved his sister’s three cats, and they reciprocated as much as cats can. Many folks in Junction are familiar with seeing Tommy around town, particularly as a loyal patron of Junction’s amazing public library, all appreciative of his indomitable good spirits and easy friendship.

Tommy is preceded in death by his parents, John Fawcett and Floreine Fawcett (Jones). He is survived by his sister, Linda, of Junction, and various first cousins living in or near Industry, Sinton, and Houston Texas and in Lowell, Massachusetts.

In lieu of flowers, donations are welcome to the Sam B. Coffey Animal Shelter of Junction.