Lifelong wood floor industry veteran Warner Tweed died on Feb. 6 at the age of 90.
Tweed had an expansive career in the wood flooring industry, starting as an inspector for the National Oak Flooring Manufacturers Association in Memphis, Tenn., in 1960 and working there for 11 years. He then worked for Harris Manufacturing in Johnson City, Tenn., for 14 years before moving to Dallas to work for distributor Trinity Hardwood Flooring. He also worked for a manufacturer in Toronto before moving to Atlanta to work for Georgia Oak Floor Distributors, retiring from there in 2001.
Tweed is also fondly remembered as one of the early group of instructions at the NOFMA Installation School that was held twice a year for decades.
Industry veteran Bill Costello met Tweed when he attended his first of many NOFMA schools in March 1985 as a new employee at DuraSeal and worked with him for years after that. "There were 10 lead instructors at that school: Warner Tweed, Roland Holder, Gray Moulthrop, Dick Hradecki, Jim Harrison, Red Peloquin, Steve Hollahan, Mac [ Bill 'Mac' McLaughlin"], of course Mickey [Moore] and Eldon Robbins," he recalls. "At that first school when I met Warner and all those guys, that’s what did it for me—I thought, 'This is going to work.' They never looked down on you like you were a newbie—they wanted you to absorb what you could and further the industry." That spirit of wanting to help people without expecting anything in return is what Costello says he will remember most about Tweed.
John Mayers also first met Tweed at the NOFMA school, in 1983, and worked closely with him during Tweed's tenure at Trinity. "Warner was a mentor to the wood flooring industry with his knowledge, but more importantly, he was a mentor to me and all who knew him on a personal level. He made me a more knowledgeable and a better person," Mayers says. "Part of life is experiencing and creating memories. Warner created lifelong memories for me and anybody who knew him. Those memories today put a smile on my face. I and the wood flooring industry are eternally grateful for Mr. Warner Tweed."
Tweed's online obituary can be viewed here. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to two of his favorite organizations, Ducks Unlimited and the World War II Museum in New Orleans.
A photo from Warner Tweed's (at left) years worked at Harris Manufacturing.
In this 1998 photo, some of the teaching greats of the early NOFMA schools were gathered. Shown are, left to right, Mickey Moore, Steve Halloran, Patsy Davenport, Daniel Boone, Harold Reid, Lon Musolf, Gray Moulthrop, Warner Tweed, Roland Holder, Farris Kennon and Hank Williams. (Photo courtesy of Daniel Boone)
