Maj. Gen. Thomas Frederick Rew

COLUMBIA - A funeral service for Maj. Gen. Thomas Frederick Rew (USAF, Ret.), 103, will be held at 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, October 22, 2025 at Northeast Presbyterian Church, with burial in Greenlawn Memorial Park. The family will receive friends at the church one hour prior to the service. Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, is assisting the family.

Maj. Gen. Rew died Sunday, October 12, 2025. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., he was the son of the late Thomas J. and Lucy Davey Rew. He graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in New York City. He enlisted in the US Army Air Corps during WWII and was quickly selected for officers’ training and flight school. After the war he graduated from Springfield College, MA with a degree in Physical Education, married Marie Hartigan of Queens, NY, and was subsequently recalled to active duty in the US Air Force during the Korean War. He remained on active duty for the next 25 years flying B-47 and B-52 bomber aircraft. He served in a variety of command positions and in combat during the Vietnam War. He retired from the military in 1976 and resided in Columbia, SC ever since. In addition to his Christian faith and his family, his three main passions in life were fishing (with his children), sports (playing handball and watching the LA Dodgers), and aviation.

Surviving are his wife, Carolyn Rew, and his three sons: Fredric Rew (wife Paige and children James, Mark, Elizabeth); William Rew (wife Christy and children Jessica, Mandy, Kat); Thomas Rew (wife Diana and children TJ and Lindsay); grandchildren Keegan Robar, Devin Brown, and Taylor Brown; plus seven great grandchildren.

He was predeceased by wife Marie Elizabeth Hartigan, sister Mary Carpenter, daughter Maureen Rew Brown, and grandson William Rew.

Centenarian Maj. Gen. Thomas Rew - Columbia Metropolitan Magazine: https://columbiametro.com/article/centenarian-maj-gen-thomas-rew/

The family wishes to thank Lutheran Hospice.

Memorials may be made to The Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation at https://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/ or The Progeria Research Foundation at https://www.progeriaresearch.org/

Memories may be shared at www.dunbarfunerals.com