James "Tad" Linwood Hedgspeth, 69, also known as "Tad" or "Tadpole" passed away June 7, 2016. He was born in Suffolk, VA the son of Elma Louise Wade Hedgspeth and the late, James Isaac Hedgspeth.

Tad was an extremely loving and devoted father to his daughter Tina. He considered her his greatest accomplishment. The decisions he made along the journey of his life greatly contributed to his daughter realizing her dream of becoming a Professor which he was so very proud. He enjoyed seeing glimpses of himself his four beautiful grandchildren and made him immensely proud.

Tad was a United States Army veteran having served during 1964-1966. He studied Business Administration at O.D.U. and later went on to work 34 years mostly in the telecommunications industry, beginning with Motorola. He eventually opened up his own telecommunications company named Mace Inc. He was a past member of Hillcrest Baptist Church, an active member of the Zuni Hunt Club, Suffolk Moose Lodge, Mason, and auxiliary policeman (Suffolk and Isle of Wight Counties). He had numerous hobbies including boating, truck rides with their dog Hunter, motorcycles, hunting, and he was a strong supporter for Relay for Life. He so enjoyed his time laying on their hammock with Sandy.

Including his mother, he is survived by his loving companion, Sandra Jones; wife, Carolyn Roberts Hedgspeth; daughter, Tina Frederick Herbst and husband, Richard; and grandchildren, Christa "Princess", Drew "Wild Man", Brady "Professor", and Natalie "Button".

A celebration of life service with military honors will be held Friday, June 10, 2016 at 2 p.m. at Parr Funeral Home & Crematory with Paul Garris officiating. In lieu of flowers please send donations for cancer research at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital (www.stjude.org). Condolences may be registered online at www.parrfuneralhome.com.