Tom Fillinger – founder, CEO of IgniteUS, Inc. – dies Feb. 10

Tom Fillinger, founder and CEO of Cullman-based IgniteUS, Inc., died Feb. 10. He was 79.

A northern Ohio native, Fillinger joined the U.S. Navy after graduating from high school and served during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. He is the pastor emeritus of SouthEast Community Church in Columbia, South Carolina, where he served for 15 years and was an active member of First Baptist Church, Cullman, since moving to Alabama.

He earned his doctorate at Denver Seminary in Colorado.

Through IgniteUS, Inc., Fillinger served as a pastor and a pastor to pastors in several states and a number of countries.

Fillinger is preceded in death by his grandson, Nicholas Lee. He is survived by his wife of more than 60 years, Peggy Jean; sons, Roderick H. and Eric B.; daughter, Dorinda Louise; and 12 grandchildren.