Thomas was born in Webster County Mississippi on June 30, 1934. He was the son of Ottis and Lois Murrah. He was predeceased by his wife, Hazel, his parents and his older sister, Kathryn Dunn of Port Gibson, MS.
Thomas went to Eupora High school but left there to go to Honduras to help work in his dad’s sawmill. He returned to the US to enroll at Clarke Memorial College in Newton County Mississippi. It was at Clarke that he met his lifetime soulmate, Hazel. They were married on August 2, 1953 and it lasted until Feb 22, 2021 when Miss Hazel went to be with Jesus.
Early on, Thomas wasn’t a truck driver, but when he was working at Mills Morris they asked him to drive one and that was the start of a 39 year career. While at Mills Morris, a co-worker introduced him to the world of stock car racing at Riverside Speedway. Thomas said ‘I can outdrive those guys’ so they built a car and went out and raced with Hooker Hood for a few years.
Thomas enjoyed meeting people and after a few years away from church, he returned. He was a deacon and Sunday School teacher at West Frayser Baptist and also at Frayser Baptist. He was a member and served as a deacon at First Baptist Church in Millington, TN. While at Frayser Baptist, Thomas and his friend Dave Johnson started a van ministry which went throughout the area, picking up children. Keeping the church vans running was a chore, but the result of taking many young people to church, some for the first time, was worth it.
Thomas was the kind of fellow who would try almost anything; from racing to CB clubs, to golf, to hunting, to bowling with his family team. He had the attitude that if someone else can do it, he could too and he usually did. One of his favorite sayings was "I'm a Jack of all trades, but Master of none."
Thomas leaves behind one son, Thomas R. Murrah (Celia), one daughter, Rhonda Roberts (Tim); four grandchildren, Thomas L. Murrah, Tina Golden (Donald), Josh Barton (Krestyn), and Becca Glisson (Jonathan); and eleven great-grandchildren.
The family requests, instead of flowers that will soon wither, please send a contribution to The Gideons International at www.sendtheword.org to help spread God’s Holy Word, which will never wither nor pass away.
The family will receive friends on Saturday March 2, 2024 beginning at 12 noon at Memphis Funeral Home, 5599 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. at Memphis Funeral Home. Interment will follow at Memphis Memory Gardens, 6444 Raleigh LaGrange, Memphis.
