Ernest Timothy "Tim" Callaway

Tim Callaway’s faith became sight on February 12, 2022, when he transitioned into his Lord’s presence and glory from the Joan and Howard Woltz Hospice Home in Dobson, North Carolina.

Tim was born December 19, 1947, in Mount Airy, North Carolina, to Ernest Marvin and Edith Martin Callaway.  He grew up on Riverside Drive with his sisters, Carolyn Callaway Bowman and Susan Callaway Evins.  He attended North Main School and Mount Airy Junior and Senior High Schools.

Growing up, Tim worked hard in his father’s businesses, played drums in the senior high school band and with other local combos, and, with his family, attended Central United Methodist Church.

He went on to study at High Point College and worked in early computing technologies with textile companies like Guilford Mills.

In 1970, he married Anna Jessup Callaway at Woodville Baptist Church, and after living in High Point, they made their home in Surry County between Mount Airy and Westfield.  They raised three sons, Joel, Dan, and Ben, and they celebrated their fifty-first wedding anniversary last November.

Together with his father, Tim founded, then owned and operated Callaway Sales and Manufacturing, Inc., a company specializing in rope and cord production.  He saw the company through many economic and market changes, keeping it open and running while Mount Airy saw the majority of its textile manufacturing move abroad.  He worked hard for his family, and his sons knew the signature clatter of his work van rolling into parking lots for little league practices.

Tim was a skilled drummer, singer, and musician.  He played with several well-known artists and built a substantial career in music before bringing his vocational focus closer to home with Callaway Sales.  He continued to share his musical gifts as a committed church musician and in several venues with various friends and bands in the region.  He would give a musical wink to his sons in the congregation or crowd with a well-timed drumstick toss.

He served in many church and ministry capacities throughout his life.  Whether he was playing drums and singing, teaching biblical giving principles, or driving a van full of loud teenagers to summer camp, he consistently stepped in to contribute to his church community.  The duets he sang with his wife, Anna, are vivid memories for his family and church community members.  For the last several years, he played drums and sang with Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church’s music ministry.

Tim modeled generosity and lived the apostles’ teaching of Jesus’s words that it is more blessed to give than to receive.  His gifts were quiet and drew little attention whether it was donating a car to someone who needed a way to work, surreptitiously supplying cash so someone struggling to buy groceries, or consistently giving tithes and offerings to ministries that shared his values.

He was an expert breakfast chef, steak griller, auto repair diagnostician, rope machine whisperer, used domestic car cheerleader, kid tickler, belly and kitchen counter percussionist, hush puppy fryer, and multi-locational napper.  He also happened to have whatever tool you needed in his pocket at any given moment.

Tim is survived by his wife, Anna Jessup Callaway of Mount Airy, North Carolina; his children, Joel Callaway of New Haven, Connecticut, Dan and Melissa Callaway of Ashland, Massachusetts, and Ben Callaway of Zaragoza, Spain; and his grandsons, Noah Callaway and Jude Callaway.  He is also survived by his sisters, Carolyn Callaway Bowman and Susan Callaway Evins.

A gathering to celebrate Tim’s life will be held Saturday, April 16, 2022, at the White Sulphur Springs Event Center from 11:00 AM until 1:00 PM.  Service arrangements are being managed by Moody Funeral Services.  In lieu of flowers, gifts and donations can be made in Tim’s honor to the Local and International Outreaches of Hope Community Church, 4660 Brownsboro Road, Winston-Salem, North Carolina  27106.