Thomas E. Farr

Thomas spent his younger years attending school and working odd jobs such as scraping barnacles off of ships at the shipyard and delivering donuts for his Uncle Clifford Farr at the donut shop down on the boardwalk at Carolina Beach. Thomas graduated from Hanover High School in 1950. During his high school years Thomas participated in various clubs but ROTC would be what led him to join the United States Air Force immediately following graduation. While in the Air Force, Thomas took advantage of every opportunity the service had to offer him. He signed up for any and all training that the military had to offer him. This included an opportunity for him to attend Boston College where he completed an associate’s degree in electrical engineering. After serving four years in the Air Force and being honorably discharged, Thomas used his military experience and new found education to land a job at Lockheed Martin Aerospace Company. Thomas started working on the assembly line at the Marietta GA plant in 1955. Once again, he took advantage of all the opportunities Lockheed would afford him. He attended classes at Georgia State University where he studied management and logistics. He then obtained his Certified Professional Logisticians certificate from the International Society of Logistics Engineers. Thomas showed his appreciation to the Society by going on to not only be a member but to serve as local chapter President. His perseverance and knowledge earned him a promotion to a management position in the logistics department where he went on to work a total of 43 years. During his tenure at Lockheed, Thomas also participated as a member and as President of the Air Force Association. Upon his retirement from Lockheed, the HR department announced that he was the only employee that had never missed a day of work. He never called in sick and never missed a day because of inclement weather. He had 43 years of perfect attendance. If there were a Hall of Fame for the regular working man Thomas would be a first ballot inductee. In 1957, Thomas met a nurse by the name of Sylvia G. Alley who would turn out to be the love of his life. Thomas and Sylvia started building a family in Sandy Springs and were blessed with three sons. The eldest son Thomas Jr. was born in 1959, Gregory S. born in 1966 and Jeffrey T. born in 1968. Thomas was a devout husband and father. He spent his family time teaching his sons all that he knew through the completion of various home improvement projects and automotive repairs. He taught his sons to not be afraid to start a project and how to work smart to complete each project. He worked hard to make sure his family had all the opportunities that he may had missed growing up. As his children grew up and moved out of the house, his family started to grow. Thomas jr. married his love Nancy and they had his only grandchild Stephanie Victoria. His granddaughter blessed him with a grandson in-law Allen Cook and three great grandchildren, Matt, Hannah and Brooke. Gregory married his love Christa but soon after he contracted leukemia and passed away at the age of 29. Jeffrey also married his love Amy. Thomas’ life was blessed with sons who provided him with beautiful daughters, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Thomas’ life was one dedicated to the lord. His faith was strong and his love for his family and friends was unwavering. He served his church, Sandy Springs United Methodist for 63 years. He was always among the first to arrive and the last to leave. Just like with his own home, he never passed on an opportunity to start or participate in an improvement project. He also taught in his Sunday school class on Sundays and was always held in high regard for the beautiful prayers he would share. Thomas will always be remembered as a devoted husband, father, granddaddy, and friend. He was a man of few words but when he spoke everyone listened and they were made better for it. His words were incredibly wise and often very funny and full of wit. He always had kind words and never spoke negatively about anyone. He had a kind soul and a beautiful heart. Thomas you will be missed. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Sandy Springs United Methodist Church in honor of his dedication to his church. A memorial service will be held Saturday February 20th at 1pm at the Sandy Springs Chapel.