Roanoke - William Thomas (Tom) Bone III, cartoonist and writer, died on October 20, 2025 at Roanoke Memorial Carilion Hospital in Roanoke, Va.

A son of the late William T. Bone and Janis Julia Wall Bone, he was born in Bluefield, W.Va., on Sept. 11, 1954, and raised in Union, W.Va. He graduated from Union High School in 1972, from Concord College (now University) with an education degree in 1976 and from Marshall University with a Master of Arts degree in 1978.

He served on committees responsible for the creation of Athens Park and of the Marsh Family Carillon on the Concord campus in Athens. He was a founding member of the Athens-Concord Town Social Committee and performed for 15 years as the Town Social clown.

Bone was public information director at Concord College from 1979-99, during which time the institution achieved then-record enrollment and grew its foundation assets exponentially.

He was a writer for the Bluefield Daily Telegraph from 1999-2018, winning multiple awards in the Better Newspaper Contest of the West Virginia Press Association.

He drew editorial cartoons for the Princeton (W.Va.) Times for 30 years and was a former member of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists.

Bone created two animated cartoon short features, The Legend of Concord Charlie and Redbird. He also co-wrote and illustrated a children's book, Uncle Snout Has a Cold, and a Family History coloring book, My History is No Mystery, for the children of the Bone and Workman families. He was the principal writer and executive producer of a 28-minute video history of Concord University.

He was volunteer public address announcer for Concord sporting events for decades, beginning in 1977. He is believed to be the only person to have handled basketball announcing duties at all three area institutions of higher education: Concord, Bluefield State College and Bluefield College.

Bone walked the entire 162 miles of Concord's second Quest for Scholars in 1992, helping then-president Jerry Beasley to raise scholarship funds and to promote the institution in seven counties of southern West Virginia.

He was a member of Concord United Methodist Church in Athens, where he sang in the choir, served as lay leader and occasionally led services. He was also elected numerous times as the church's lay delegate to sessions of the West Virginia Annual Conference.

Bone was a member of the Athens Lions Club and the Concord University Alumni Association council. He was a 4-H All-Star and was honored by the Town Social with its Total Community Involvement Award. He was also named Athens Citizen of the Year and Concord College Alumnus of the Year (1999) and Golden Alumnus (2020). He entered the Concord Athletics Hall of Fame in 2024 for his quarter-century of football and basketball announcing and for his assistance in sports information duties.

He is survived by his wife, Christine Early Bone, whom he married in 1977, and by their daughter Erin Bone Steele (and husband Colin) and son William Thomas Bone IV (and wife Sandra). He is also survived by two grandchildren, Genevieve and Penelope Steele, and by his brother John (and wife Michelle).

A service to celebrate Bone's life will be held at Concord United Methodist Church in Athens on Saturday, November 15, 2025. Visitation with his family will take place from 1:00. At his direction, his body will be cremated. A memorial stone will be erected in his memory in the Wall family plot at Athens Cemetery. Online condolences may be made by visiting www.seaverfuneralservice.com.