WILMINGTON — Thomas W Scholl, II, 71, of Wilmington, NC, passed away suddenly on August 10th, 2026, at Novant Regional Medical Center. He was born June 1, 1955, in Bridgeport, CT, to the late Thomas and Ruth (Patchen) Scholl.
Tom was a retired Bridgeport Police detective, a previous employee of Sikorsky Aircraft, and an EMT and IV Tech at various ambulance departments. He was a black belt in Aikido and spent many years not only practicing but also teaching. While he was critically acclaimed for his legendary mustache, he also loved jazz, cigars, bloody marys, UConn basketball, Twilight Zone marathons, Svengooli, and any chance to go out and get a birthday cake for no damn reason. He had 2 speeds: silly and inappropriate, or bad-ass ex-police detective.
He is survived by his high school sweetheart and wife of nearly 50 years, Donna Palmer Scholl; his loving children, Dore Myers and her husband Jesse, and Jarrad Scholl and his partner Heather Hoadley; and his four perfect grandchildren, Lilliana Myers, Ava Scholl, Brynn Myers, and Easton (aka Carl) Myers; and his two bonus grandchildren, Spencer and Caroline Hoadley.
His family was his everything. When he was 16, he saw Donna across the room and told his friend he was going to marry her someday; they have been together ever since. In their marriage, they were spouses to one another, parents to one another, siblings to one another (it sometimes was a good idea to separate them when going out to eat), and always best friends. In their retirement years, they enjoyed creating stained glass pieces in their co-owned studio, The Glass Imagerié.
He will be missed dearly by all those who knew and loved him, especially his pets, Herschel and Horatio. Services will be private.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) in his name.
