Kerry Thomas

Mr. Kerry R. Thomas, 74, of Elberton, GA died Tuesday, April 12, 2016 at Elbert Memorial Hospital in Elberton, GA. The funeral service will be held on Friday, April 15, 2016 at 12 noon at Pineview Baptist Church in Reidsville, GA with Rev. Earnie Pirkle officiating and internment to follow at the Pineview Baptist Cemetery. The family will receive friends on Friday at 10:00 a.m. until the service hour at the church.
Mr. Thomas was born October 5, 1941 in Tattnall County, Georgia to the late Bertha Barrow Thomas and Rufus Benjamin Thomas. He was a 1963 graduate of the Georgia School for the Deaf in Cave Springs, GA where he was very active in sports, particularly football and basketball. He was inducted into the Georgia School for the Deaf sports Hall of Fame in 2012 for his athletic excellence. He retired from the United States Postal Service in 1992 after more than 23 years of service. He served as President of the Georgia Baptist Convention of the Deaf for one term and also served as the President of the 3rd Chapter of the Georgia Association of the Deaf. Throughout his life, Mr. Thomas was an active member of Byne Memorial Baptist Church in Albany, GA where he served as a Sunday School teacher and was the first deaf man ordained as a deacon as well. He was only the second deaf man in Georgia to be ordained as a deacon.
Mr. Thomas is survived by his wife of 49 years Mary Louise Gammage Thomas; daughters Dot (Michael) Rutherford and Heather (M.H.) Robbins all of Elberton; three grandchildren, Chelsea Rutherford and Trey Rutherford of Milledgeville and Parker Robbins of Elberton; three sisters Lyndal Tatum, Wanda Lopez and Anita Kelley all of Reidsville; one brother Ronnie (Susan) Thomas of Reidsville. sister in-law, Jackie Thomas of Glennville and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his brother Julian Thomas, sister Joann Thomas, and brothers-in-law, Kennon Tatum and Bob Kelley.
Remembrances can be made to the Crusselle-Freeman Church of the Deaf, P.O. Box 11286, 1304 Allene Ave., Atlanta, GA 30310; Carter E. Bearden Deaf Mission Fund, 348 Turner Circle, McDonough, GA 30252