Howard Plott

Howard Tillman Plott, a well know pharmacist and businessman in the eastern side of Birmingham died Friday, December 6, 2024, just shy of his 95th birthday.

Howard, known as "Buddy" to many of his family, was born in 1930 in Aliceville Alabama in Pickens County to David Tillman and Gertrude Gibson Plott. The youngest of four children, Howard worked at the rural family dairy business that operated without electricity until he was nearly thirteen years old. He was especially proficient and enjoyed operating tractors as a child, a passion he continued to enjoy after retirement on his Blount County farm.

Plott graduated from Tuscaloosa High School in 1948 and served in the Air Force Medical Corp during the Korean War. He attended the University of Alabama and received a degree in Pharmacy from Howard College in 1956. After completing college, he worked for B&S Drugs in East Lake and ultimately bought the business from Dr. William J. Shamburger, who would later become his father-in-law when he met his first wife "Teddye". He and Teddye had two children, William Gibson "Gip" Plott and Julie Catherine Plott. In the early 1970s, Plott purchased the Eastlake Hardware Company and merged his drug business and the hardware business with Don Campbell Drugs to form Plott and Campbell Drugs and Hardware. The business was very successful and became infamous for the many shootouts and thwarted robbery attempts by unsuspecting bandits during the "drugstore cowboy" days. Plott recalled receiving a number of humorous gifts from police departments around Jefferson County including boxes of giftwrapped hollow-point bullets. Plott was known throughout the southeast as an authority on knife collecting and a portion of his store was devoted to the sale and trade of all types of knives. In addition to the drug and hardware businesses, Plott's early entrepreneurial endeavors included a business providing laboratory animals and sterile specimens to universities and research facilities.

Howard married his wife of fifty years, Bettye Vardaman in 1973 and blended their family to include her three children, Mike, Teresa and Dale Walker. Many of Howard's happiest days were spent with his many grandchildren. He and Bettye were avid tennis players and members of Wilson Chapel United Methodist Church, where Howard, as a member since 1958, served on the board of trustees, sang in the choir, taught Sunday School, headed up the annual church barbeque and served on various committees.

Howard was an avid gardener and studied at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. He enjoyed refinishing furniture and working and fishing on his expansive farm that he kept manicured like a park. He also loved Alabama football.

Howard is survived by his five children: Gip Plott, Mike Walker (Angela), Teresa Velleggia (Frank), Julie Plott, Dale Walker (Kerrie), grandchildren Scarlett, Callie and Michael Walker, Trey Velleggia (Anna), Joe Velleggia (Amy) and Lacey Velleggia Snyder (Jeremy), Courtney, Jacob, Avery, Emylee and Blake Walker and many great grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.

The family would like to give special thanks to Fair Haven Assisted Living, Compasses Hospice and the Plott's most cherished church family at Wilson Chapel United Methodist Church.

Visitation will be held on Saturday, December 14th at 10:00 AM at Wilson Chapel Methodist Church, 412 Cumberland Drive, Birmingham, AL 35206. Funeral services will follow at 11:00.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Wilson Chapel Methodist Church.